Ratite Birds Research Articles

Implications of bone morphology for moa taxonomy and behavior.

The limb bone skeleton of the moa, a family of extinct ratite birds endemic to New Zealand, is described with particular reference to the anatomical and functional significance of osteological landmark form variation. The results generally support the existing classification of moa. Four genera, Megalapteryx, Anomalopteryx, Dinornis, and Pachyornis, were found to be evolved within moa, with Emeus and Euryapteryx possibly being more primitive. Megalapteryx was found to be less mobile than other moa genera. The Dinornis species were found to be more cursorial and more mobile relative to other moa. They may also have had a different center of gravity. A marked development of the lower leg in Anomalopteryx suggested a digging habit associated with food procurement.

Gut Retention Times of Experimental Pseudoseeds by Emus

Pseudoseeds (buttons and beads of a specific gravity within the range of real seeds) were retained in the digestive tract of captive emus very commonly for 1-2 d, but a considerable number were held for over 1 wk (and up to several wk). These retention times are similar to those of several other large, fruit-eating vertebrates that often disperse the seeds of the fruits eaten. Retention time did not vary consistently with pseudoseed dimensions but did differ greatly among birds and trials. Many of the ingested pseudoseeds were deposited at nightly camp sites. Long retention times and patchy deposition patterns have several possible but undocumented consequences for shadows. EMUS (DROMAIUS NOVAEHOLLANDIAE) ARE LARGE, wide-ranging, omnivorous ratite birds that include several kinds of fruits in their diet (Lea & Gray 1935, Davies 1978) and are important agents of dispersal for at least some plant species whose fruits they ingest (Noble 1975). The large size (ca 40 kg) and omnivorous habits of the birds made them suitable subjects for feeding trials designed to determine the length of time that ingested seeds are retained in the gastro-intestinal tract, as an index of the potential dispersal distances reached by emu-transported seeds. The goals of this study were 1) to determine gutretention times (GRTs) of seeds, using buttons and beads as pseudoseeds, and 2) to determine if seed dimensions influened GRT. The results are discussed in relation to the potential shadow generated by emu

Patterns of metabolism in embryonic reptiles

VdotO2 of eggs of the turtleEmydura macquarii, the crocodilianAlligator mississipiensis, and the tuataraSphenodon punctatus, were measured throughout incubation.E. macquarii andA. mississipiensis, species in which hatching synchrony may be important, show a decline inVdotO2 prior to hatching (‘peaked’ pattern). This is similar to the pattern shown by ratite birds, where the decline period may be variable and facilitates hatching synchrony. The same interpretation is used here for reptiles. Hatching synchrony seems unimportant inS. puntatus, no decline inVdotO2 is observed, and the pattern ofVdotO2 is similar to that shown by most precocial birds. Developmental asynchrony in reptilian nests,e.g., E. macquarii, probably results from temperature differences within the nest. Turtles with nests that are unlikely to experience developmental asynchrony, show truncation of the ‘peaked’ pattern, similar to the usual avian precocial pattern, or even extreme truncation approaching that of altricial birds. A pattern of ontogeneticVdotO2 in snakes (which have precocious young) similar to that in birds with altricial young may indicate a basic developmental differences in snakes.

Nitrogen concentration and mimicry in some New Zealand mistletoes.

The nitrogen concentration in photosynthetic organs of 41 pairs of mistletoes and their respective hosts was compared and found to be higher (in relation to that of their hosts) in cryptic mistletoes and lower in non-cryptic mistletoes. This supports the hypothesis that crypsis may have evolved as a mechanism for avoiding predation by vertebrate herbivores. There were no consistent differences between the nitrogen concentrations of hosts and mistletoes in trees and larger-leaved shrubs (whether native or introduced). The largest differences between mistletoes and their hosts were found on small-leaved divaricate shrubs (Coprosma ssp., Melicope simplex) where the nitrogen concentrations in cryptic mistletoes (Korthalsella spp.) were significantly higher than in their hosts, but significantly lower in prominent mistletoes (Loranthus micranthus, Tupeia antarctica) which apparently "advertise" their unpalatability. If crypsis in New Zealand mistletoes evolved as a protection against herbivory, then it must have evolved in the absence of mammalian herbivores, and the appropriate selection pressures could have been provided only by moas, extinct ratite birds. Otherwise, alternative explanations, such as differing relationships between water use and nitrogen uptake, must be sought for the observed associations of nitrogen concentration and cryptic mimicry in New Zealand mistletoes.

Mother Cassowary's Bones: Daggers of the East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea

Previous articleNext article No AccessMother Cassowary's Bones: Daggers of the East Sepik Province, Papua New GuineaDouglas NewtonDouglas Newton Search for more articles by this author PDFPDF PLUS Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Metropolitan Museum Journal Volume 241989 Sponsored by the Metropolitan Museum of Art Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.2307/1512887 Views: 9Total views on this site Citations: 8Citations are reported from Crossref Copyright 1989 The Metropolitan Museum of ArtPDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:Roxanne Tsang, Sebastien Katuk, Sally K. May, Paul S.C. Taçon, François-Xavier Ricaut, Matthew G. Leavesley Rock Art and (Re)Production of Narratives: A Cassowary Bone Dagger Stencil Perspective from Auwim, East Sepik, Papua New Guinea, Cambridge Archaeological Journal 25 (Feb 2022): 1–19.https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959774322000026Scott D. Haddow, Christina Tsoraki, Milena Vasić, Irene Dori, Christopher J. Knüsel, Marco Milella An analysis of modified human teeth at Neolithic Çatalhöyük, Turkey, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 28 (Dec 2019): 102058.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jasrep.2019.102058Nathaniel J. Dominy, Samuel T. Mills, Christopher M. Yakacki, Paul B. Roscoe, R. Dana Carpenter New Guinea bone daggers were engineered to preserve social prestige, Royal Society Open Science 5, no.44 (Apr 2018): 172067.https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.172067Valasia Isaakidou Meaningful Materials? Bone Artefacts and Symbolism in the Early Bronze Age Aegean, Oxford Journal of Archaeology 36, no.11 (Jan 2017): 43–59.https://doi.org/10.1111/ojoa.12104Policarp Hortolà Human bloodstains on bone artefacts: an SEM intra- and inter-sample comparative study using ratite bird tibiotarsus, Micron 90 (Nov 2016): 108–113.https://doi.org/10.1016/j.micron.2016.09.002A. Sołtysiak, A. Gręzak Worked Human Femur from Gohar Tepe, Iran, International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 25, no.33 (Dec 2012): 361–365.https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.2296Policarp Hortolà MRT letter: Human bloodstains on antique aboriginal weapons: A guiding low-vacuum sem study of erythrocytes in experimental samples on ethnographically documented biological raw materials, Microscopy Research and Technique 75, no.88 (May 2012): 1007–1011.https://doi.org/10.1002/jemt.22084John Edward Terrell, Esther M. Schechter, Mark Golitko Chapter 15: Conclusions, Fieldiana Anthropology 42 (May 2011): 295–303.https://doi.org/10.3158/0071-4739-42.1.295

Morphological differentiation of sex chromosomes in three species of ratite birds

Chromosome banding studies allowed us to distinguish the sex chromosomes of the emu (<i>Dromaius novaehollandiae</i>), American rhea (<i>Rhea americana</i>), and Darwin’s rhea (<i>Pterocnemia pennata</i>). In each species, we identified the Z chromosome which is very similar to a carinate Z, and the slightly smaller W chromosome. Contrary to the uniformly heterochromatic carinate counterpart, the ratite W chromosome is euchromatic and retains remarkable banding homology to the Z chromosome.

Lymph heart musculature in birds.

Development and innervation of the lymph heart musculature of chicken, emu, rhea, and duck was studied by electron microscopy at post-hatch ages from 3 days to adulthood. Development of innervation was monitored by acetylcholinesterase staining. Horseradish peroxidase was used to determine the extent of the transverse tubule network. Chickens were unusual among these birds in that lymph heart myocytes had already undergone a definitive differentiation and degeneration by 3 days. In ducks and ratite birds, lymph heart myocytes more slowly but progressively differentiate a cytomorphology that does not conform in all characteristics to cardiac or skeletal muscle and even resembles in some aspects, smooth muscle. Myofibrils become the dominant cytoplasmic structure, transverse tubules form "internal couplings" with agranular reticulum cisternae, and "external couplings" are formed between myocytes at myomyal junctions. The myomyal junctions also contain AChE-positive reaction product and some subplasmalemmal vesicles that lack a dense core. The lymph heart myocardium of ducks of 2 weeks demonstrated mitotic figures. In adult ducks the myosatellite cell numbers diminish and a characteristic pattern of myocyte degeneration appears. In juvenile ducks and ratites some myocytes differentiate to conductile cells, much as the conductile myocytes and myofibers of the blood heart. The lymph heart innervation is described, and the role of nerve in differentiation and maintenance of myocyte morphology in the lymph heart is discussed.

Ostrich ancestors found in the Northern Hemisphere suggest new hypothesis of ratite origins

Modern ratites (ostriches, rheas, cassowaries, emus, and kiwis) are flightless birds which have a palatal structure termed 'palaeog-nathous'1 and are found on daughter-landmasses of the Mesozoic supercontinent Gondwanaland. It has been suggested2-4 that a single flightless ancestor, widely distributed in Gondwanaland, gave rise to the various lineages of ratite birds. The temporal calibration of the DNA molecular clock is primarily based on the divergence of ratites, and depends on the validity of this hypothesis. Newly studied fossils suggest that the ancestors of ostriches are instead among a group of North American and European birds, the 'Lithornis-cohort', that had the potential of flight and from which the kiwis may have arisen separately.

Immunochemical detection and characterisation of osteocalcin from moa bone

Osteocalcin (the 6,000 dalton M r gamma-carboxyglutamate-containing protein of bone) has been detected in acid extracts of bones of the extinct class of New Zealand ratite birds, the moas, using a radioimmunoassay for sheep osteocalcin. The immunoreactive osteocalcin of the extracts of two of these bones (the fibulae from two specimens of Pachyornis elephantopus found in South Island swamps) has been fractionated by gel filtration chromatography and reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography, and behaves in a manner characteristic of osteocalcin from modern bones. Carbon-14 dating of bones and gizzard contents found in association with these specimens indicates approximate ages of 3,600 and 7,400 years respectively.

Some observations on the development of the long bones of ratite birds.

Observations were made on the long bones of 16 young ratite birds (10 rheas, 3 emus and 3 ostriches), from 1-day-old to 12 weeks of age. At hatching all long bones contained large cartilaginous cones which were continuous with the growth plates, and an osseous cortex. At one week of age ossification had commenced on the periphery of these embryonic cones and in some bones the cones had become separated from the growth plates. At 3 weeks of age the embryonic cones of cartilage were still present in the proximal and distal tibio-tarsi and narrow cartilaginous bridges connected the cones to the growth plates. Embryonic cones were not present in other long bones of this 3-week-old rhea nor in the long bones of ratites 6, 8 and 12 weeks of age. Other praecocial birds such as turkey poults and chickens have cones of embryonic cartilage in their long bones at hatching and these persist in the tibio-tarsi till one to 2 weeks of age. The presence of large cones of embryonic cartilage in the tibio-tarsal bones of 3-week-old ratite birds is probably a normal phenomenon. Awareness of this feature is necessary for the correct differential diagnosis of the prevalent musculoskeletal disorders of ratite birds.

Sexing ratite birds by cloacal examination.

Sexing ratite birds by cloacal examination.

Fiber Digestion in the Emu, Dromaius novaehollandiae, a Large Bird with a Simple Gut and High Rates of Passage

The ability to digest plant fiber was examined in the emu, a large ratite bird which is widely distributed in Australia. Emus digested between 35% and 45 % of the neutral detergent fiber (NDF) in their diets (NDF content 26%-36%). Hemicellulose was more digestible than either cellulose or lignin. The digestion and metabolism of 14C-labeled cellulose and significant volatile fatty acid production showed that fermentative digestion was involved in NDF digestion. Energy from the digestion of NDF contributed up to 63% of the standard metabolism and 50% of maintenance requirements for energy on the highest fiber diet. The considerable NDF digestion was achieved despite the facts that the rate of passage of feed residues through the tract is rapid and the gastrointestinal tract is simple in structure; the distal small intestine (ileum) was the principal site of fermentation. The mean retention time of the fluid phase of the diet was 4.1 ± 0.2 h and that of the particulate phase was 5.5 ± 0.4 h (n = 11). The ability of the emu to digest and metabolize plant fiber may assist its survival during periods of decreased food quality and abundance in the interior of Australia.

Energy, Water, and Solute Balance of the Ostrich Struthio camelus

The basal metabolic rate of adult ostrich (0.113 ml O2 g−1 h−1) is only 58% of the predicted value for a 100-kg nonpasserine bird. The basal metabolic rate of ratite birds appears to be best summarized as BMR (ml O2 h−1) = 389 kg0.73, which is parallel to and has about 60% of the intercept of the relationship for nonpasserine, carinate birds. The resting metabolic rate of ostrich (0.26 ml g−1 h−1; 2.3 × basal metabolism) was similar to the predicted basal rate. The maximal factorial metabolic scope of ostrich is at least 28 × basal. The daily energy turnover rate of ostrich with ad lib. water was 12,700 kJ day−1, which is equivalent to 0.26 ml O2 g−1 h−1. Daily energy intake dropped to 1,360 kJ day with water deprivation, but daily energy turnover remained high at about 15,000 kJ day−1. The digestive efficiency of ostrich with ad lib. water for lucerne was 43% of the ingested energy. Ostrich appear to digest a significant fraction of the cellulose in their diet. The daily water turnover rate of ostrich consuming dry lucerne with ad lib. water was 8.3 liters day−1. Drinking was the main source of water gain (7.9 liters day−1), and urine (2.5 liters day−1) and fecal water (2.9 liters day−1) were the main avenues for water loss. The cutaneous evaporation of adult ostriches (0.6 liters day−1) constituted 40% of the total evaporative water loss. Minimal respiratory water loss was 0.82 liters day−1 (1.3 mg/ml O2 consumed). Ostrich could not maintain body mass when water deprived. The rate of water intake for the ostrich without drinking water was 0.83 liters day−1; most of this was metabolic water. The rate of water loss was at least 2.21 liters day−1. Plasma sodium concentration increased, but potassium and osmotic concentrations were unchanged after 7 days of water deprivation. Birds with ad lib. water and water deprived had a similar urinary solute loss (osmotic clearance = 1.25 liters day−1). However, urine flow rate declined with water deprivation from 2.5 to 0.5 liters day−1, and urine osmotic concentration increased from 163 to as high as 800 mOsm kg−1 (U/P ratio of 2.5), to conserve water. Rapid rehydration by drinking of 12-14 liters of water (17% body mass) in 3 h diluted the body water pool as expected, but the decreases in ionic and osmotic concentrations of the plasma were less than expected. The moderate plasma dilution during rapid rehydration would be insufficient to cause hemolysis of red blood cells. The water economy of the ostrich is similar to that of other large savannah and desert animals, such as antelope and the camel, although the partitioning of water loss differs. The ostrich has a lower evaporative water loss and a higher fecal and urinary loss than mammals of similar mass.

The Red Pulp of the Spleen: Structural Basis of Blood Flow

In developing avian embryos, the right and left ductus arteriosi (DA) allow for a shunt of systemic venous return away from the lungs to the body and chorioallantoic membrane (CAM). Unlike in mammals where the transition from placental respiration to lung respiration is instantaneous, in birds the transition from embryonic CAM respiration to lung respiration can take over 24 h. To understand the physiological consequences of this long transition we examined circulatory changes and DA morphological changes during hatching in the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae), a primitive ratite bird. By tracking microspheres injected into a CAM vein, we observed no change in DA blood flow between the pre-pipped to internally pipped stages. Two hours after external pipping, however, a significant decrease in DA blood flow occurred, evident from a decreased systemic blood flow and subsequent increased lung blood flow. Upon hatching, the right-to-left shunt disappeared. These physiological changes in DA blood flow correspond with a large decrease in DA lumen diameter from the pre-pipped stages to Day 1 hatchlings. Upon hatching, the right-to-left shunt disappeared and at the same time apoptosis of smooth muscle cells began remodeling the DA for permanent closure. After the initial smooth muscle contraction, the lumen disappeared as intimal cushioning formed, the internal elastic lamina degenerated, and numerous cells underwent regulated apoptosis. The DA closed rapidly between the initiation of external pipping and hatching, resulting in circulatory patterns similar to the adult. This response is most likely produced by increased DA constriction in response to increased arterial oxygen levels and the initiation of vessel remodeling.

Digestion in the emu: Low energy and nitrogen requirements of this large ratite bird

1. 1. The emu, the second largest of living birds, has a distribution which includes the arid interior of Australia. 2. 2. Its maintenance requirements for energy and nitrogen were assessed by a series of digestibility trials. 3. 3. In caged emus the maintenance requirement for metabolizable energy was 284 kJ/kg 0.75 per day and the maintenance requirement for nitrogen was 0.09 g N kg 0.75 per day. 4. 4. Both these values are low when compared with data from other birds. 5. 5. The low energy requirement appears associated with the low basal metabolism of emus. 6. 6. The very low nitrogen requirement, however, may reflect some form of recycling of urinary nitrogen.

Developmental changes of phosphates in red cells of the EMU and the RHEA

1. 1. The object of this study was to compare the pattern of red cell phosphates at different ages of development of two members of the order of non-flying ratite birds, the emu and the rhea, with data which had been obtained on examples from four orders of flying birds: chick and others ( Galliformes). duck ( Anseriformes), sea gull ( Charadriformes) and pigeon ( Columbiformes). Limited information is also given on another ratite, the ostrich. 2. 2. Distinctive features of the flying birds were a high concentration of inositol pentaphosphate (IP5) in the adult, with only traces of other inositol polyphosphates, and a brief appearance of a high concentration of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG) late in embryological development. 3. 3. Maximum IP5 in red cells of adult emu, rhea and ostrich was only about half of that found in other birds. 4. 4. Inositol tetraphosphate was absent in the emu. was one quarter of the IP5 in the rhea and twice as much as the IP5 in the ostrich. 5. 5. No DPG was found in red cells of emu and rhea at any age; however, the ostrich had a high concentration in red cells of a late embryo.

The epididymis and its development in ratite birds (ostrich, emu, rhea).

The epididymis of ratitae is subdivided into a main part and a appendix epididymidis. The appendix epididymidis consists of the ductus aberrans and ductuli aberrantes. The ductus aberrans is the cranial continuation of the ductus epididymidis. The appendix epididymidis is cranially attached to the adrenal gland. In the main part of the epididymis the largest part of the rete testis is found. The rete testis is composed of an intratesticular rete (also named tubuli recti), and intracapsular rete (with a longitudinal cistern and a true rete), and an extratesticular rete (predominantly consisting of approximately 20 longitudinal channels). The rete testis develops most likely embryonally from buds of the glomerular capsules of the mesonephros. The ductuli efferentes proximales also from these capsules, while the ductuli efferentes distales develop from the proximal and distal tubules and intermediate-segments of the mesonephros. The ductus epididymidis originates from the Wolffian duct and meanders dorsolaterally through the epididymis.

The Kiwi and Egg Design: Evolution as a Package Deal

Kiwis are the smallest birds in the flightless suborder Ratiti (moas and kiwis, rheas, elephant birds, cassowaries and emus, and ostriches). The ratite birds are apparently of monophyletic origin on Gondwanaland, after a smaller, flying ancestor common to ratites and tinamous scaled up to something allometrically incapable of getting airborne. This interpretation is supported by recent anatomical and biochemical studies, coupled with the history of continental drift (Bock 1963, Cracraft 1974, Osuga and Feeney 1968, Prager et al. 1976, Sibley and Frelin 1972). The greatest ratite radiation occurred in isolation on the island-continent of New Zealand, producing 13 described species of moas and at least 4 species of kiwis. Cracraft regards the moas as anatomically the more primitive in the moa-kiwi lineage. The most common and widespread of the three species and the subject of this review is the 1.5 to 3.3 kg brown kiwi (Apteryx australis), which occurs on all three major islands of New Zealand, (North, South, and Stewart). Similar in size, but restricted to South Island, is the great spotted kiwi (A. haasti), and the smallest and rarest of the species is the little spotted kiwi (A. oweni), 0.8 to 1.5 kg. The little spotted kiwi occurred on North Island prior to 1900, but has subsequently been limited to South Island, where it has been severely reduced, perhaps eliminated. A healthy population survives where it has been introduced to a small island off North Island.

Resting metabolic rates of ratite birds: The kiwis and the emu

1. 1. The standard metabolic rates of the North Island Brown kiwi ( Apteryx australis) is 61% of that predicted for a nonpasserine bird of 2.38 kg body mass. 2. 2. Standard metabolic rates of the kiwipukupuku ( Aptéryx oweni, 0.67 and 1.53kg) and the Roa ( A. haasti, 2.21–2.87 kg) were 44.70% and 57.63% of predictions for their sizes, respectively. 3. 3. Resting metabolic rates of 3 non-laying or male emus ( Dromaius novaehollandiae) were 75, 80 and 87% of standard metabolic predictions. 4. 4. This evidence suggests that previous data from ratite birds represent elevated metabolism and that the ratites and the carinate nonpasserine birds should be treated separately in allometric analyses.

The snapping strength of the egg shells of various orders of birds

A study of the snapping strength (S) of egg shells and its relationship to the square of the thickness (T2) has been made on seven orders of birds and also in respect of a few shells of ratite birds, domestic fowl and guinea fowl.There are considerable differences in strength between the egg shells of different orders of birds and when shells are snapped outwards the egg shells of Sphenisciformes are almost twice as strong as those of Podicipitiformes for a given thickness. The shells of the guinea fowl are very strong and those of the domestic fowl weak compared with the seven orders when they are snapped inwards.Comparisons of the strength of shells with and without the outside chalky cover, which occurs on the egg shells of Sphenisciformes, Pelecaniformes and Podicipitiformes, show very variable relationships, while comparisons of inward and outward snapping strength indicate that in some orders the difference is great but that in others it is negligible.The presence or absence of a cover on the shell could not explain any difference in snapping strength, nevertheless, a few tests on Pelecanus shells using impact strength showed that then the cover adds considerably to the strength. No other shell characteristics could explain the differences in snapping strength.