WORD OF THE DAY
femur
This, when fully developed, consists of two parts, but inserted by a single ribbon-like tendon upon the hinder surface of the femur, near the end of its first third; the caudal part, femoro-caudalis, expressed by Garrod by the symbol A, arises from transverse processes of the tail; the iliac part (accessorofemoro-caudal of Garrod, with the symbol B), arises mostly from the outer surface of the postacetabular ilium.
It is remarkable that it should persist in the spectacled bear of the Andes, although it has disappeared in all other living members of the group. The third trochanter of the femur, on the other hand, can scarcely be regarded as primitive, seeing that it is absent in several of the lower groups of mammals.
The most generalized type is Coryphodon, representing the family Goryphodontidae, from the lower Eocene of Europe and North America, in which there were 44 teeth, and no horn-like excrescences on the long skull, while the femur had a third trochanter.
It may also be noticed that in mammals and birds which hop on two legs, such as jerboas, kangaroos, thrushes and finches, the proportionate length of the thigh-bone or femur to the tibia and foot (metatarsus and toes) is constant, being 2 to 5; in animals, on the other hand, such as hares, horses and frogs, which use all four feet, the corresponding lengths are 4 to 7.
The most generalized type is Coryphodon, representing the family Goryphodontidae, from the lower Eocene of Europe and North America, in which there were 44 teeth, and no horn-like excrescences on the long skull, while the femur had a third trochanter.
The femur often possesses a well visible pneumatic foramen on the median side of the proximal end of its shaft.
The vertebrae of the neck unite by nearly flat surfaces, the humerus has lost the foramen, or perforation, at the lower end, and the third trochanter to the femur may also be wanting.
The vertebrae of the neck unite by nearly flat surfaces, the humerus has lost the foramen, or perforation, at the lower end, and the third trochanter to the femur may also be wanting.
In many birds the insertion is shifted from the femur to the neck of the tibia, in which case the " accessory head " is said to be absent, a condition expressed by Garrod by the symbol X.
In the hinder limb the femur is marked, as in other perissodactyles, by the presence of a " third trochanter," a flattened process, curving forwards and arising from the outer side of the bone, about one-third of the distance from the upper end.
In most insects the leg is built up of nine segments: (1) a broad triangular, sub-globular, conical or cylindrical haunch (coxa); (2) a small trochanter; (3) an elongate stout thigh (femur); (4) a more slender shin (tibia); and (5-9) a foot consisting of five tarsal segments.
The hind limbs are very strong; the massive femur has a large pneumatic foramen; the tibia has a bony bridge on the anterior surface of the lower portion, a character in which the moas agree only with Apteryx amongst the other Ratitae.