Tibiotarsus
Pigeon
skeleton; numbers 10 and 11 indicates the tibiotarsusThe tibiotarsus is the large bone between the femur and the tarsometatarsus in the leg of a bird. It is the fusion of the proximal part of the tarsus with the tibia.
A similar structure also occurred in the Mesozoic Heterodontosauridae. These small ornithischian dinosaurs were unrelated to birds and the similarity of their foot bones is best explained by convergent evolution.
Palaelodus gracilipes
at the Museum für Naturkunde, BerlinSee also
References
- Proctor, Nobel S. Manual of Ornithology: Avian Structure and Function. ISBN 0-300-05746-6
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