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Anatomy and histochemistry of spread‐wing posture in birds. I. Wing drying posture in the double‐crested cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus
Author(s) -
Meyers Ron A.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of morphology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.652
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1097-4687
pISSN - 0362-2525
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1097-4687(199707)233:1<67::aid-jmor6>3.0.co;2-l
Subject(s) - wing , cormorant , biology , anatomy , pectoralis muscle , forelimb , tonic (physiology) , pectoral muscle , pectoral girdle , zoology , predation , ecology , neuroscience , engineering , aerospace engineering
Spread‐wing postures of birds often have been studied with respect to the function of behavior, but ignored with regard to the mechanism by which the birds accomplish posture. The double‐crested cormorant, Phalacrocorax auritus , was used as a model for this study of spread‐wing posture. Those muscles capable of positioning and maintaining the wing in extension and protraction were assayed histochemically for the presence of slow (postural) muscle fibers. Within the forelimb of Phalacrocorax , Mm. coracobrachialis cranialis, pectoralis thoracicus (cranial portion), deltoideus minor, triceps scapularis, and extensor metacarpi radialis pars dorsalis and ventralis were found to contain populations of slow‐twitch or slow‐tonic muscle fibers. These slow fibers in the above muscles are considered to function during spread‐wing posture in this species. J Morphol 233:67–76, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.