INVESTIGADORES
GIANECHINI Federico Abel
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
DIFFERENCES IN THE HIND LIMB MUSCULATURE BETWEEN THE BLACK-CHESTED BUZZARD EAGLE (Geranoaetus melanoleucus) AND THE DOMESTIC CHICKEN (Gallus gallus domesticus) IN RELATION WITH THEIR LIFESTYLES
Autor/es:
LUCIANO COLLI; FEDERICO A. GIANECHINI
Lugar:
Mendoza
Reunión:
Congreso; XXXVI Reunión Científica Anual de la Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo; 2018
Resumen:
Different lifestyles in birds might be reflected in differences in the muscular morphology, especially in the limbs. The goal of this work was the anatomical study of the muscles of the hind limb of two species of birds to evaluate morphological differences between them. One species is raptorial with prevalent aerial locomotion (Geranoaetus melanoleucus) and the other with a predominantly terrestrial locomotion (Gallus gallus domesticus). For this purpose, it was dissected the hind limb of two adult specimens of the mentioned species. Among the observed differences stand out the absence of the m. flexor crurislateralis in G. melanoleucus, as also occurs in other accipitrid birds. By contrast, this is a well-developed muscle in basal Neornites, which are characterized by a predominant or exclusively terrestrial locomotion. This muscle is an important extensor of the hip during the contact phase of the hind limb with the ground, and also prevents the hyper-extension of the knee articulation, so it has a significant functional role in birds with a terrestrial locomotion. Therefore, the loss of this muscle in G. melanoleucusis linked with the mainly aerial habit of this species. Moreover, it was observed a greater development of the muscles of the tarsometatarsus in G. melanoleucus, which is related with the predatory lifestyle of this bird. The function of these muscles is the flexion of the pedal digits, especially the talons, and thus generating the gripping force necessary to hold the prey. Additionally, it was observed the fusion of the tendons of the m. gastrocnemius and the m. digitorum longus in G. melanoleucus, whereas in G. gallus domesticus these two muscles have different insertion points. Thus, this study shows how the muscular anatomy is tightly related to the lifestyle. Furthermore, it was possible to observe, regarding the phylogeny of birds, the derived and specialized hind limb musculature of a raptorial bird and to compare it with the muscles of a more basal bird, i.e. the domestic chicken.