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Dear friends, This has been a fascinating exchange of messages. Also because it really presses all my nerdy buttons. Anyway, because any occasion is a great one to learn more about a interesting subject, this is what I learned today (some of you may already know this, but I didn't)... In his second edition of "The Anatomy of the Domestic Animals" (1914), Septimus Sisson says the following: (p. 29, speaking about the carpals and their respective names) This nomenclature, introduced by Gegenbaur, and now used largely by comparative anatomists, seems decidedly preferable to the variety of terms borrowed from human anatomy and based on the form of the bones in man. (p. 31, now regarding the tarsals, and mentioning the nomenclature of tibial and fibular tarsals, with the smaller ones being first tarsal, second tarsal, etc.) The preceding terms are anglicized abbreviations of those introduced by Gegenbaur into comparative anatomy. The Latin names and synonyms are given in the following table: Tibial (Os tarsi tibiale, Tt.)............................Astragalus or Talus Fibular (Os tarsi fibulare, Tf.)........................Calcaneus or Os calcis Central (Os tarsi centrale, Tc.)......................Scaphoid or Navicular First Tarsal (Os tarsale primum, Tl)..............First or internal cuneiform Second Tarsal (Os tarsale secundum, T2)... Second or middle cuneiform Third Tarsal (Os tarsale tertium, T3).............Third or external cuneiform Fourth Tarsal (Os tarsale quartum, T4).........Cuboid Carl Gegenbaur was the german anatomist who used the field of comparative anatomy as evidence to support the theory of evolution. Which explains why his 1877 (second edition) of "Elements of Comparative Anatomy" was translated to English in 1878 with the support of "Charles Dickens and Evans, Crystal Palace Press." Anyway, in this book Gegenbaur says: (p. 488, describing "Posterior Extremities" of several paleontological and actual species) In the place of the three proximal tarsal bones there are two long bones, which are, however, often fused at their ends ; they are ordinarily known as the astragalus and calcaneum. (...) In the Chelonii there are unimportant modifications in the larger pieces of the extremities ; in addition to this we must note the gradual concrescence of some of the bones of the tarsus, which is of great importance as explaining the skeleton of the foot in Birds, as well as in other Reptiles. An intermedium is united with a tibiale to form an astragalus ; and the centrale is attached to, or even completely fused with, this bone. The fourth and fifth tarsalia similarly form a single bone, the cuboid. Finally, according to the dictionaries, the term astragalus with anatomical meaning dates back to the mid 16th century: via Latin from Greek astragalos ‘ankle bone, moulding’. As for talus, it dates to late 16th century: from Latin, literally ‘ankle, heel’. Nerdy as it can be, right? Best to all, -- MJ --- *Maria João Valente* Professora Auxiliar Universidade do Algarve Faculdade de Ciências Humanas e Sociais Campus de Gambelas 8000-117 Faro – Portugal Email: [log in to unmask] / [log in to unmask] Telefone: +351 289 800 900 (ext. 7741) CEAACP — Centro de Estudos de Arqueologia, Artes e Ciências do Património Website <http://w3.ualg.pt/~mvalente/> | Academia <https://ualg.academia.edu/MariaJoaoValente> | ResearchGate <https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Maria_Joao_Valente> | ORCID <http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6137-5995> ######################################################################## To unsubscribe from the ZOOARCH list, click the following link: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=ZOOARCH&A=1