Tibiotarsus
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/58/Squelette_oiseau.svg/250px-Squelette_oiseau.svg.png)
The tibiotarsus is the large bone between the femur and the tarsometatarsus in the leg of a bird. It is the fusion of the proximal part of the tarsus with the tibia.
A similar structure also occurred in the Mesozoic Heterodontosauridae. These small ornithischian dinosaurs were unrelated to birds and the similarity of their foot bones is best explained by convergent evolution.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Tibiotarsi_of_extinct_birds.jpg/220px-Tibiotarsi_of_extinct_birds.jpg)
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- Proctor, Nobel S. Manual of Ornithology: Avian Structure and Function. Yale University Press. (1993) ISBN 0-300-05746-6