the.com/paleognath
Ostriches, emus, kiwis — the birds that never bothered learning to fly or lie about it.
means A member of the Palaeognathae, the group of mostly flightless birds (ostriches, emus, rheas, kiwis, tinamous) distinguished by a primitive, unfused palate structure in their skulls.
from Built from Greek roots: 'palaios' meaning old or ancient, and 'gnathos' meaning jaw. The name is purely anatomical — scientists coined it to describe the distinctively archaic bone structure of the palate in these birds' skulls, which differs from the more modern, fused palate found in nearly all other living birds (the neognaths, or 'new jaws'). The 'old jaw' tag stuck as the formal name for this ancient lineage.
- name meaning
- greek for old jaw
- flight status
- mostly flightless, except tinamous
- palate shape
- fused bones like dinosaur ancestors
- sister group
- neognaths, basically every other bird