Behavioral correlates of semi-zygodactyly in Ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) based on analysis of internet images.

ABSTRACT: Ospreys are renowned for their fishing abilities, which have largely been attributed to their specialized talon morphology and semi-zygodactyly-the ability to rotate the fourth toe to accompany the first toe in opposition of toes II and III. Anecdotal observations indicate that zygodactyly in Ospreys is associated with prey capture, although to our knowledge this has not been rigorously tested. As a first pass toward understanding the functional significance of semi-zygodactyly in Ospreys, we scoured the internet for images of Osprey feet in a variety of circumstances. From these we cross-tabulated the number of times each of three toe configurations (anisodactylous, zygodactylous, and an intermediate condition between these) was associated with different grasping scenarios (e.g., grasping

SUBMITTER: Sustaita D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6368007 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature