TONGUE MORPHOLOGY AND AFFINITIES OF THE HAWAIIAN HONEYCREEPER MELAMPROSOPS PHAEOSOMA
Publication Type: | Journal Article |
Year of Publication: | 1978 |
Authors: | Bock, WJ |
Journal: | Ibis |
Volume: | 120 |
Issue: | 4 |
Date Published: | 1978 |
ISBN Number: | 1474-919X |
Keywords: | Ciridops, Drepanididae, Fringillidae, Loxops, Melamprosops, Melamprosops phaeosoma |
Abstract: | SUMMARY Melamprosops phaeosoma has a thick straight tongue with an anterior spoon-like trough, but without any indication of a tube. Its hyoid skeleton has an elongated, flattened basihyale, stout parallel paraglossalia and a concavity along the dorsal surface of the ceratobranchiale. All the tongue muscles could be dissected but the superficial M. mylohyoideus and M. serpihyoideus were too damaged to figure and describe. The M. ceratoglossus and the M. hypoglossus obliquus are large; the latter muscle inserts mainly on the basihyale and ceratobranchiale, but a small number of fibres pass beneath the basihylale. The M. hypoglossus anterior is absent. The morphology of the tongue apparatus of Melamprosops is very similar to that of Ciridops and of Loxops and supports placement of Melamprosops in the Drepanididae. Further it suggests that Melamprosops evolved from an ancestor with a tubular tongue, supporting the suggestion that it evolved from Loxops. |
URL: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919X.1978.tb06812.x |
Short Title: | Ibis |
Taxonomic name: