Sei sulla pagina 1di 18

Resumido por el autor, R. W. Shufeldt.

Notas sobre la osteologia y otros puntos de la morfologia del j6ven del hoatzin (Opisthocomus cristatus) . El material para el estudio anat6mico de Opisthocomus cristatus ha sido susministrado por Mr. Robert Cushman Murphy ('14-'15) ; consistia en individuos j6venes y subadultos capturados por Mr. George Cherrie en la Guyana. Todas las figuras (cuatro 1Aminas) han sido dibujadas por el autor; representan las partes externas y el esqueleto, y son reproduccih de fotografias hechas por el autor. Se describe por vez primera el esqueleto del pol10 y subadulto, comparando incidentalmente sus caracteres con 10s correspondientes del esqueleto del adulto. Tambien se revisa una gran parte de la literatura referente a este punto. Despues de describir con detalle el crAneo, el autor hace notar que hay probablemente cuarenta y cuatro vertebras en la columna vertebral, y que la morfologia de la pelvis coincide notablemente con la que presenta dicho hueso en la gallina. Todo el esternbn, a excepcidn de una pequefia porci6n anterior de la quilla sumamente rudimentaria, permanece cartilaginoso durante largo tiempo; la forma del hueso en el adulto se conoce hace largo tiempo. Tambien se describe con detalle el desarrollo de 10s huesos de 10s miembros, considerando con especial atenci6n el enorme tamafio de 10spi& en estos animales jbvenes, en comparacih con el tamafio general de las restantes partes del cuerpo. El tegument0 es gmeso y coriAceo: la reticulacih y escutelacih de las podotecas se ven claramente puesto que son reproducciones de fotografias. Tambien se presta atencih a la pterilosis, glhndula uropigia y otros puntos de la anatomia topogrkfica de este ave.
Translation by Dr. Jose Nonidez, Columbia University.

AUTHORS ABSTRACT OF TRIS PAPERISSUED BY

TRE BIBLIOGRAPHIC SERVICE,

DECEMBER

NOTES ON THE OSTEOLOGY OF THE YOUNG OF THE HOATZIN (OPISTHOCOMUS CRISTATUS) AND OTHER POINTS ON ITS MORPHOLOGY
R. W. SHUFELDT
EIGHT FIGURES (FOUR PLATES)

In the winter of 1914-15, I received from Mr. Robert Cushman Murphy several specimens of the subadult and young of Opisthocomus cristatus. My impression is they were collected in Guiana by Mr. George Cherrie though I may be mistaken in regard to this. Dr. James E. Benedict, of the United States National Museum, had Mr. Scollick, the skillful preparateur of that institution, prepare the skeletons of two of these specimens for my use in descriptive work (figs. 1 and 2). Upon this account I presented the entire lot to the National Museum in February, 1914. (Mus. No. 223903.) There is considerable literature on the hoatxin, which dates back t o the writings of Miiller and of Gmelin, the latter passing the bird into the genus Phasianus of Linnaeus, while Buffon considered it to be a curassow. Illiger created the genus Opisthocomus for it in 1811, and, twenty-six years later, LHerminier gave a fairly good account of its anatomy. Figure 1 is from a subadult specimen, taken in the pin-feather, just before it is abIe to fly; the bird was probably double the age of the chick whose skeleton is shown in figure 2. In the latter, almost the entire skeleton is still in cartilage, although minute ossific centers can be detected in the basi-occipital of the skull, but not distinctly in any other bone. However, even at this age the main osteological characters of the species are quite apparent. Superficially, the skull, as a whole, reminds one of the skull of the chick of Gallus; though upon direct comparison, character for character, the resemblance is soon dispelled. As in the adult,
599

600

R. W. SHUFELDT

the culmen of the superior mandible has a uniform curve from the craniofacial hinge t o the rather sharp apex; in fact, the upper bill as a whole slopes away t o its tip in a gentle forward and downward direction. Laterally, the small narial aperture is rather irregulzr in outline and is situated about half way between the anterior margin of the orbit and the distal apex of the beak. The V-shaped mandible is nearly uniform in depth from its articulation t o its symphysis, which latter is truncate from the terminal point, downwards and bsckwards. Either orbit is subcircular in outline and pxsesses a very sharp margin for the entire arc of its superior periphery. Anteriorly, the pars plana is complete. Even at this early stage the interorbital septum is entire for its whole extent; the nerve foramina on its posterior joining with the anterior wall of the brain-case are small, being only of sufficient size t o admit of the passage of the nerves through them. Even the floor of this orbit is more or less complete, made so by the close articulation of the palatine of the same side, and, in part, by the breadth of the corresponding quadrate bone and also, t o some extent, the pterygoid. Externally, the vault of the cranium is rounded and smooth, being but slightly depressed between the orbits mesially and in front; and the nasals extend well backwards, their posterior apices in the middle coming in contact opposite the center of the orbits. The basis cranii is in the horizontal plane and the condyle is of considerable size. In the vertebral column there are seventeen cervical vertebrae in the skeleton of the neck, and of these the last two, the sixteenth and seventeenth, support a pair of free ribs. These ribs lack unciform processes, while those of the three dorsal pairs of ribs are peculiar in that they are elongate, nonprojecting backwards, and more or less adpressed anteriorly to the posterior margin of the rib in all cases. This is also the case with the anterior pair of pelvic ribs. The dorsal vertebrae are closely articulated with each other, the neural spines being low, and, in their present cartilaginous state, appear to be almost blended with each other. No haemal

OSTEOLOGY OF THE YOUNG O F HOATZIN

601

spines have developed on any of the vertebraeof the column; and, as a matter of fact, their processes are very simple and much reduced (fig. 1). The vertebral as well as the sternal ribs are broad and flat; there are five pairs of the latter, and each pair articulates with the sternum independently, even the two pairs that meet the pelvic ribs, which latter possess epipleural appendages only in the case of the anterior pair. In the articulated, cartilaginous skeleton it is not easy to count correctly the number of vertebrae in the column between the last dorsal and first caudal ones. However, I have counted them over several times, and there appear to be fifteen of these; that is, five beneath the anterior part of the ilia and ten posterior to them, which latter can be counted with great certainty. There are six caudal vertebraeand three more in the pygostyle, which makes nine of these segments in the skeleton of the tail. Judging, then, as best I can, there appear to be 44 vertebraein the spine of Opisthocomus cristatus; but in order t o be certain of this, I should like to see the skeleton of a specimen about a month older than either of these. When the bird is as old as the one which furnished the skeleton shown in figure 1 of the present contribution, the ischia of the pelvis exhibit some little advanoe in ossification ; there is also some bone formed in either ilium, in a strip of some width running along the outer moiety of the preaeetabular portion, as far back as the middle point over the elliptical ischiadic foramen. The pubic style, which extends far beyond the ischium on either side, has also commenced to ossify along its anterior part. All the posterior parts of these pelvic bones are still in cartilage; and upon the whole, this pelvis possesses much the same appearance, in matters of form and development, as it does in the pullet of the common fowl. With respect to the shoulder-girdle or pectoral arch, the 0s furculum is entirely cartilaginous at the stage of development shown in figure 1; while a coracoid as well as a scapula have ossified to a very considerable extent, though the extremities of these bones are still in cartilage. A scapula promises to be broad and short as well as considerably curved.

602

R. W. SHUFELDT

Curiously enough, I find the entire sternum, all to a small anterior portion of the extremely rudimentary keel, still performed in cartilage. This is thick and substantial; and, as the morphology of this bone, as it appears in the adult bird, has long been known, it requires no further description here. Its form on lateral view, in the subadult individual, is well shown in figure 1. T h e skeleton of the limbs. All the long bones, including the phalanges of pes and manus, are, in the pullet, ossified, so far as their shafts are concerned, the proximal and distal extremities being more or less still in cartilage. These bones are similarly ossified in the chick; but the process has not proceeded t o the same extent nor is the bony tissue so dense. In fact, it is what we may expect to findin an earlier stage of the process (figs. 1 and 2 ) . In the humerus, the radial crest is scarcely a t all developed, and the bone as a whole exhibits, to quite a marked degree, the sigmoid curve from head to distal extremity, where the trochleae are still in cartilage. The antibrachium is somewhat shorter than the arm, and of the two bones only the ulna exhibits any degree of curvatureeven in its case it is not so very great. Ulnare and radiale of the carpus are only in cartilage, while the three long bones composing the metacarpus are as yet separatethe one for the pollex digit being short and rather thick and attached parallel to the stout and very straight shaft of the index metacarpal. The medium metacarpal is slender, nearly of uniform caliber, and very much bowed, the concavity being toward the index metacarpal. There is nothing peculiar about the terminal digits and claws, of which latter there are two, as shown in figure 1 of the present article. The medius digit or phalangeal joint is small and triangular in outline, being without a terminal claw. In the pelvic limb (fig. l), ossification of the several bones composing it has proceeded about as far as in the bones of the wing. The femur is but slightly bowed anteroposteriorly and promises t o be stout and strong, as indeed all the bones of this limb are. Even in the pullet I fail to find any bony patella,

OSTEOLOGY O F THE YOUNG O F HOATZIN

603

though the tendon in which it should occur is thick and broad. The tibiotarsus is bulky and thick, being much enlarged at its extremity-the distal, cartilaginous condylar portion being conspicuously extensive. p Very early in the development i the chick the three tarsal bones, which eventually fuse t o form the tarsometatarsus, unite at the juncture of the middle and lower thirds of the shaft, the fusion being still further advanced in the pullet (fig. 1). One of the most striking characters in the skeleton of the young Opisthocomus is the enormous size of the feet, as compared with the remaining proportions of the bird itself. This feature is, of course, by no means lost in the fowl as we find it in nature; but then the discrepancy does not seem t o be so great on account of the presence of the plumage, which lends the appearance of greater bulk to the body. (Compare figs. 1 and 2 with 4 and 7.) The phalanges are stout and relatively long; the ungual joints large and strong, and t o some extent curved, especially the claw of the hallux. As in so many birds, the arrangement of the joints of the pedal digits is 2, 3, 4, t o first, second, third, and fourth toes, respectively. Transversely attached to the posterior border of the summit of the tarsometatarsus, just anterior t o the short, single-grooved, cartilaginous hypotarsus, there is a tough, curved piece of cartilage which, in life, fits closely in between the condyles of the tibiotarsus. It appears as though it might, t o some little extent, ossify later in life, as it does in certain gallinaceous birds-a group t o which the hoatzin is, in a way, related, as its morphology seems to indicate. This piece of cartilage is of some considerable size even in the chick or nestling. At the nestling stage, the integuments of this species are thick and tough, and these characters seem to be, to some extent, enhanced as the bird grows, for I find them to be still thicker and tougher in the pullet. Figures 3 to 8, inclusive, give several of the characters of the superficial anatomy of the young of the hoatzin at the two stages of its existence here being considered. These show the reticula-

604

R. W. SHUFELDT

tion and scutellation of the podothecae, which heretofore have not been figured direct from photographs of the parts in question. These figures also show, with great accuracy, the relative proportions of the external features of the species. It is well known that the big claws of pollex and index digits of the hand are more or less functional in this bird, and a number of naturalists have described the habit the young bird has of assisting itself, when climbing through the twigs of the trees near the nest, by means of these clawed fingers; they are seen pretty well in figures 3, 4,and 8. Upon examining the skin (alcoholic specimen) of the subadult specimen at hand, I find that the pterylosis can be studied with more or less satisfaction. The feathering upon the sides of the head and throat is very sparse, and there is a naked area around the eye, especially below the lower eyelid. The crest for the most part is median, though it spreads slightly upon either hand towards the side of the head by feathers greatly reduced in size. In the cervical region the pterylosis is strong and continuous, with a total absence of naked spaces at the sides of the neck. Anteriorly, the feathering of the lower cervical area is carried down upon either side, to form rather broad, though not long, ventraI pterylae-each one of which, below the thorax, is carried down to the vent as a narrow line of pretty strong feathers. At the root of the neck dorsally, the pterylosis divides, to form strong, narrow humeral tracts, while in the median line the spinal tract is weak and narrow, particularly distally, where it is carried down as far as the oil-gland. At the root of the neck this spinal tract appears to be double; but the branches are very close together, and, upon proceeding forward, run together and are lost among the feathers forming the pterylosis at the base of the cervical region behind. The crural pterylae are but faintly marked and the oil-gland is feathered. Feather-sheaths (pin-feathers) of the wings and tail are large and strong, the latter being imperfect in the specimen at hand, while I count nineteen remiges in the former, of which ten occur upon the pinion.

OSTEOLOGY O F THE YOUNG O F HOATZIN

605

On the apteria, the down feathers are pretty well distributed over the body and limbs, and are well developed, being more or less abundant, particularly upon the sides of the body and upon the thighs. The free margins of the wings are also abundantly feathered from the thorax to the carpus of wither brachium. This is as much as these young specimens show of the pterylosis of Opisthocomus cristatus; but it foreshadows what we may reasonably expect to find in the adult bird, which appears, in the main, to have been more or less correctly described by Nitzsch in his great classic on Pterylography. It may be well further to note that C. J. Sundevall (73) describes a specimen which he casually examined; he came t o the conclusion that the vinculum of the foot was absent, and consequently Opisthocomus must have passerine affinities. Garrod (79), however, soon corrected this, and not only found the vinculum present, but of large size.
BIBLIOGRAPHY

FRANK 1889 Contribution t o the anatomy of the hoatzin, OpisE. BEDDARD, thocomus cristatus, with particular reference t o the structure of the wing in the young. Ibis, ser. 6, vol. 1. 1898 The structure and classification of birds. Structure and classification of Opisthocomis cristatus. BEEBE,W. 1917 Tropical wild life, vol. 1, New York. BEEBE,C. W. 1909 A contribution t o the ecology of the adult hoatzin. Zoologica, vol. 1. (Reprinted in Smithsonian Report for 1910.) CHUBB, C. 1916 The birds of British Guiana, vol. 1. London. CABINIS,J. 1870 Eier des Opisthocomus cristatus. J. f. O., Bd. 10, pl. 1, fig. 3. DEVILLE,E. 1852 Observations faites en Am6rique sur les mceurs de diff6rentes esp&ces loiseaux-mouches, suivies de quelques notes anatomiques e t de mceurs sur lhoatzin, le cauvale, e t le savacou. P1. 9. Also, same title, Compt. Rend. de 1Acad. Sci., 34. 1852 Rev. e t Mag. Zool., s6r. 2, vol. 4. GARROD, ALFREDH. 1879 Notes on points in the anatomy of the hoatzin. P. Z. S., Feb. 4, figs. 1 and 2 and diagram. GADOW, HANS 1891 Description of the modification of certain organs of the hoatzin. Zool. J. B. 5. Abth. Syst. and Proc. R. Irish Acad. 2 (3). PAUL 1856 Exp6d. AmErique du Sud. Zool. Anat. (Castelnau). GERVAIS, GOELDI,E. A. 1895 Opisthocomus cristatus besitzt i n seiner Jugend (und bloss dann) ein Krallenpaar a n jedem Fliigel. Orn. Monatsber., Bd. 3. 1895 Opisthocomus cristatus a cigana hesenha ornithologica. Bol. Mus. Paraense, vol. 1.

606

R. W. SHUFELDT

GRANT, OGILVIE 1893 (Opisthocomidae.) Cat. Birds, vol. 22. LHERMINIER 1837 Anat. of the hoatzin. Comptes Rendus, 5. HUXLEY, THOS.H. 1868 On the classification and distribution of the Alectoromorphae and Heteromorphae. P. Z. S. MITCHELL, CHALMERS P. 1896 A contribution t o the anatomy of the hoatzin (Opisthocomus cristatus). P. Z. S. 1841 MULLER,JOHANNES On the hoatzin. Ber. Akad. Wissensch. Berlin. NEWTON,ALFRED 1893 A dictionary of birds. Assisted b y Hans Gadow, with contributions from Richard Lydekker, Charles S. Ray, and Robert W. Shufeldt. P a r t 2. Hoaetzin, or Hoatzin. PARKER, K. 1891 On the morphology of a reptilian bird, Opisthocomus W. cristatus. Tr. Z. S. PERRIN,J. B. 1868 Observations on the hoatzin. 1868 Digestive system of the hoatzin. Tr. Zool. SOC. 1873 On the myology of Opisthocomus cristatus. Tr. Zool. SOC., also P. Z. S. PYCRAFT, P. 1895 On the pterylography of the hoatzin, Opisthocomus W. cristatus. Ibis, ser. 7, vol. 1. QUELCH 1890 On the habits of the hoatzin, Opisthocomus cristatus. Ibis, ser. 6, vol. 2. SHARPE, B. 1891 Classification of birds. Budapest. R. R. SHUFELDT, W. 1904 An arrangement of the families and the higher groups of birds. Amer. Nat., vol. 38. (Skeleton of the hoatzin.) C. SOUNINIDE MANONCOUR, N. S. 1785 D u Sasa [Opisthocomus cristatus]. Oiseau de la Guyane. Jour. de Physique, 27. Also ifibcr den Sasa cines Vogel aus Guiana. 1786, Licht u. Voights Magaz., 3d ser., 4. SUNDEVALL, J. 1873 Methodi naturalis avium disponendarum tentamen. C. Stockholm. C. YOUNG, G. 1888 Opisthocomus cristatus, its habits, nesting, anatomy, and wing-formation. Notes Leyd. Mus., 10, pl. 8.

PLATES

607

PLATE 1
(Reproductions of photographs made direct from the qleeimem by the author.)
EXPLANATION O F FIGURE

f 1 Left lateral view of the skeleton of a s u b a d d t specimen o the hoatzin (Opisthocomus cristatus) ; two-thirds natural size. From Mr. Robert Cushman Murphy, and prepared a t the United States National Museum, to which institu.tion it was presented by the author. (No. 223903.)

608

OSTEOLOGY O F THE YOUNG OF HOATZIN


R. W. SHUFELDT

PLATE I

609

PLATE 2
EXPLANATION O F FIGURES

2 Skeleton of a nestling hoatzin (Opisthocomus cristatus) ; two-thirds natural size. Same lot as the one shown in figure 1, with same history. Skull and leading cervical vertebrae in right oblique lateral view. Skeleton of trunk twisted over so as t o give a ventral view of the thorax, pelvis, and skeleton of tail. Wings rotated over with skeleton of trunk. Pelvic limbs separated from skeleton b y dividing bones of the leg at their middles, in order t o present more instructive views of them. 3 Dorsal view of the trunk and pectoral limbs of a nestling hoatzin (Opisthocomus cristatus). Head viewed upon left oblique aspect, and the right pelvic limb seen upon its outer side. Same lot as the one shown i n figure 1, with the same history. Figures 1 t o 3 alcoholic specimens; two-thirds natural size.

610

OSTEOLOGY O F T H E YOUNG OF HOATZIN


R. W. SHUFELDT

PLATE 2

611

PLATE 3
EXPLANATION O F FIGURES

4 Right lateral view of a nestling hoatzin (Opisthocomus cristatus); wings raised. Alcoholic specimen; two-thirds natural size. Same lot and history as the specimens i n plates I and 2. 5 Direct left lateral view of the head of a young hoatzin (Opisthocomus cristatus) ; two-thirds natural size. Alcoholic specimen. Same lot and history as those figured on plates 1 and 2. 6 Feet of a nestling hoatzin (Opisthocomus cristatus) ; two-thirds natural size. Alcoholic. Same lot and history as those figured on plates 1 and 2. These feet are the same as the ones shown in figure 4 of this plate, seen upon left lateral aspect instead of upon the right.

612

OSTEOLOGY OF THE YOUNG O F HOATZIN


B W. SHUFELDT .

PLATE 3

613

PLATE 4
EXPLANATION O F FIGURES

7 Feet of a subadult hoatzin (Opisthocomus cristatus) ; two-thirds natural size. Same lot and history as the spccimens figured on plates 1 t o 3. 8 Right wing of a subadult hoatzin (Opisthocomus cristatus) : two-thirds natural size. Alcoholic. Different specimen from the one shown in figure 7 of this plate. This wing is viewed directly from above, being spread out t o show pin-feathers. Terminal claws of the digits seen among the feathers. Same history and lot as the srecimens shown in figures 1 t o 6 of plates 1 t o 3.

614

OSTZOLOGY O F THE YOUNG OF HOATZIN


R. W. SHUFELDT

PLATE 4

615

Potrebbero piacerti anche