Postnatal Variation of Limb Bones in the Japanese Quail, Coturnix coturnix japonica

Abstract

SUMMARY:Changes in body size over ontogeny may influence the ontogenetic development of long bones, and thus important to our understanding of variation in morphological, physiological, and life-history traits within species. In this study, we sample the entire measurements of the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) of individual skeletons, to investigate the ontogenetic allometry of limb bone proportions by Reduced Major Axis (RMA) regression. The ulna and humerus were both positively allometric in relation to body mass, with their proximal ends growth more rapidly than other regions. Hindlimb bones exhibited more than one allometric pattern. The tarsometatarsus was negative; the femur presented positive allometry, with the width and depth of the proximal end scaled more strongly; measurements of the tibiotarsus were dominated by more rapid growth, especially the width of the proximal end. The growth patterns are suggested to be correlated with the ontogeny of behavior, and reflect the muscular requirements for different mode of locomotion.

Development of limb bone laminarity in the homing pigeon (Columba livia)

“…A tentative conclusion from these results is that altriciality and positive allometric growth are coupled at least in avian wing development. However, we are aware that semi-intensively farmed Japanese quail from China show positive allometric growth of midshaft width in forelimb bones ( Ren, Wang & Zhang, 2016 ), which is odd given the early locomotor capabilities of the wings. Positive allometry of midshaft width was also found in the femur and tibiotarsus, the latter being inconsistent with results from the closely-related chicken ( Biewener & Bertram, 1994 ).…”

Unique near isometric ontogeny in the pterosaurRhamphorhynchussuggests hatchlings could fly

“…In altricial birds (e.g. Larus (Carrier & Leon 1990) and Coturnix (Ren et al 2016)), juveniles have disproportionally small wing bones compared to other elements, and the legs are much larger and better developed. Wing area (including feathers) grows dramatically very late during development (implying strong positive allometry).…”

Post‐hatching growth of the limbs in an altricial bird species

“…Birds that develop asynchronously, such as mallard, California gull and black noddy, show strong positive allometry in forelimb bones (Bennett, 2008; Carrier & Leon, 1990; Dial & Carrier, 2012). In our previous work, Japanese quails, which develop synchronously, were also shown to undergo positively allometric growth in their humerus and ulna (Ren et al., 2016). Consistent with available data on the California gull, quail, mallard and black noddy, the growth of length of the humerus and ulna was characterized by strong positive allometry in pigeons in the present study.…”

“…Additionally, altricial species grow more rapidly than precocial species (Ricklefs, 1979). These complicated factors are expected to influence the post‐natal ontogenetic development of limb bones, which is reported to present different allometric patterns among species; nevertheless, this kind of works, especially detailed studies, are relatively rare (Picasso, 2012), and only investigated in ostrich, black noddy, California gull, greater rhea, mallard and Japanese quail (Bennett, 2008; Carrier & Leon, 1990; Dial & Carrier, 2012; Picasso, 2012; Ren, Wang, & Zhang, 2016; Smith, Jespers, & Wilson, 2010), all of which are precocial/semiprecocial taxa. The aim of the present study, therefore, is to reveal the limb growth pattern of an altricial bird species and to compare it with that of precocial birds.…”