LIMB ALLOMETRY IN BIRDS

The scaling of different limb parameters (osteological, myological and tendinous) were studied in a large sample of extant birds. In general , wing long bones are significantly longer than hind limb long bones. If diameters are considered, those of the hind limbs scale faster than those of the wings. Only muscles and tendons from the hind limb were studied. Muscles seem to vary more than their corresponding tendons. T he fact that the sample studied displays a great diversity of locomoto r patterns may account for the inadequacy of traditional hypotheses of morphological similarity to explain the results found.