Monatsarchive: März 2019

Of shields, plates and spikes – the complex scale patterns of ostrich legs

The feet of the ostrich are weird, even grotesque compared with normal bird feet. They are quite likely the most derived feet of any extant flightless bird. Functionally they are closer to the feet of an ungulate than to those of a typical avian. The first toe is enormous in size and has a wide and nearly hoof-like nail whereas the second toe is much shorter, flattened and has no more claw at all. Weiterlesen

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