The anatomy of the middle ear of the tinamiformes (Aves: Tinamidae)

Abstract

The morphology of the middle ear region including the basicranium and quadrate of tinamous is compared among ratites and flying birds belonging to the Procellariiformes, Sphenisciformes, Pelecaniformes, and Ciconiiforms. The middle ears of tinamous and ratites share a number of important characters including absence of a separate foramen for the glossopharyngeal nerve; eustachian tube, carotid artery, and stapedial artery encased in bone; and a metotic process with vascular canals or notches. Outgroup analysis confirms these characters as synapomorphies. These data support the position that the Tinami and Ratiti form a monophyletic assemblage.

Comparative Anatomy of the External and Middle Ear of Palaeognathous Birds

“…In contrast, Saiff (1982Saiff ( , 1988 reports a common foramen for both nerves as in other paleognathous species. In the serial sections investigated here, the kiwi shows the pattern described in neognathous birds, with the ninth cranial nerve leaving through the aquaeductus cerebri and below the perilymphatic recess.…”

“…In all neognathous birds, the ninth and tenth cranial nerves leave the braincase through separate canals. This pattern is found in Galliformes, Anseriformes, Pelecaniformes, Gruiformes, Ciconiiformes, Psittaciformes, and Passeriformes (Werner 1958), as well as in Procellariiformes and Sphenisciformes (Saiff 1988). Both canals develop during ontogeny by separation of the embryonic fissura metotica through a cartilagenous bridge.…”

“…In paleognathous birds, the openings of the tympanic recesses show only minor structural variations. Saiff (1974Saiff ( , 1976Saiff ( , 1978aSaiff ( ,b, 1981Saiff ( , 1982Saiff ( , 1983Saiff ( , 1988) published a series of papers on the middle ear of birds [including Procellariiformes (1974), Sphenisciformes (1976), Pelecaniformes, and Ciconiiformes (1978b), and paleognaths (1978a]. The windows probably fused with additional smaller windows which may have opened during ontogeny.…”

Cranial pneumatization and auditory perceptions of the oviraptorid dinosaur Conchoraptor gracilis (Theropoda, Maniraptora) from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia

“…The IAP represents a ventral contralateral communication developed between the tympanic spaces and the pharyngotympanic tubes (Hill et al 1980;Saiff 1988;Starck 1995). The middle ear cavities may be also interconnected through dorsal contralateral passages.…”

A Phylogeny of the Tinamous (Aves: Palaeognathiformes) Based on Integumentary Characters

“…Among authors defending the second position are Parker (1864), Salvadori (1895), Pycraft (1900), Carlisle (1925), Lowe (1928), Wetmore (1930), Bock (1963), Meise (1963), Parkes and Clark (1966), Gysels (1970), Cracraft (1974), andPrager et al (1976). More recent studies, whatever the analytical methods utilized, support the monophyly of Palaeognathae, i.e., Ratitae + Tinamidae (Cracraft, 1981(Cracraft, , 1986(Cracraft, , 1988Saiff, 1988;Cracraft and Mindell, 1989;Bock and Bühler, 1990;Sibley and Ahlquist, 1990;Kurochkin, 1995;Lee et al, 1997;Groth and Barrowclough, 1999).…”