Where Can I get a scale drawing of the anatomy of a Turkey Vulture? |
Clarification of Question by
jtmandel-ga
on
15 May 2003 15:28 PDT
I am specifically interested in the distance between the caudal apex
of the heart and the base of the sternum.
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Clarification of Question by
jtmandel-ga
on
15 May 2003 18:12 PDT
I would give a big tip for a successful lead or the actual diagram. Thanks!
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Request for Question Clarification by
pafalafa-ga
on
15 May 2003 19:56 PDT
I might be able to get you close, but since I can't readily confirm
it, I'm posting the information here, rather than as a formal answer
to your question.
First off, I don't think you're likely to find a link to a drawing on
the web. The closest I got was this site:
http://www.skullsite.com/index.htm?welcome.htm~info
New: 3D models of bird skeletons
Check out the newest feature on this site: 3-D rotating skeletons of a
Northern Gannet, Great Cormorant, **Common Buzzard** and Northern
Goshawk.
http://www.skullsite.com/search/index.cfm
Side, top, bottom view of the skull of the Turkey Vulture
It features a Turkey Vulture skull, and a full (cool, rotatable)
buzzard skeleton. You might want to contact the author of this site
about your particular interests, as he clearly is a dedicated
collector of things avian:
jan.jansen@3uu.nl
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Your two best bets, it seems, for getting an actual drawing are these
references, which, unfortunately, I cannot easily check out myself:
http://207.16.80.151/zooarch/birdreco.htm
Baumel, J. J., A. S. King, J. E. Breazile, H. E. Evans and J. C.
Vanden Berge, Eds. (1993). Handbook of avian anatomy: nomina anatomica
avium, second edition. The Nuttall Ornithological Club: Cambridge,
Massachusetts. Chapter 4 by Julian J. Baumel and Lawrence M. Witmer is
the standard for the nomenclature of bird osteological elements and
features. Reprinted drawings include Larus argentatus, Coccothraustes
vespertina, Fregata minor, Corvus brachyrhynchos, Ardea herodias,
Columba livia, Diomedea nigripes, Crax fasciolata, Meleagris
gallapavo, Aquila chrysaetos, **Cathartes aura**, and Branta
canadensis (in order of presentation). Note that not all skeletal
elements of each species is represented. Instead these species are
used to exemplify particular features for naming and descriptive
purposes and some comparative osteology.
----------
http://www.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/birds/birddivresources/bibliog2.html
Fisher, H. I. 1946. Adaptations and comparative anatomy of the
locomotor apparatus of new world vultures. Amer. Midl. Nat. 35:
545-727
----------
Let me know if any of these does the trick. And good luck.
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Request for Question Clarification by
umiat-ga
on
16 May 2003 00:38 PDT
Hi, jtmandel-ga,
Like pafalafa, I have also been prompted to search this one out.
I have an e-mail out to a contact at the Anatomy Art gallery to see if
she can give me any referrals for drawings to scale.
http://www.jdenuno.com/AnArtGall.htm
I also plan to call Acorn Naturalists tommorrow, to see if they can
refer me to any anatomical drawings.
Other ideas are:
The Cornell Ornithology Lab at http://birds.cornell.edu/
Various sources on Birdnet - http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET/
Museum of Vertebrate Zoology Data Access - University of California,
Berkeley
http://elib.cs.berkeley.edu/mvz/
Just to be sure....you do want the anatomical drawing to lifesize, or
"birdsize," I should say.....correct?
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Clarification of Question by
jtmandel-ga
on
16 May 2003 06:47 PDT
Hi both of you,
Thanks so much for the leads already!! I will follow some up to see
if they lead to a correct answer. For umiat, the drawing can be any
size as long as it is to scale. I think even forward and lateral
x-rays would do the trick. Does that answer your question?
thanks!
|
Request for Question Clarification by
umiat-ga
on
16 May 2003 07:57 PDT
Well, I have found one possible source of x-rays! Check this out!
http://www.mndaily.com/daily/1996/04/15/feature_photos/3fe0415/
The Gabbert Raptor Center
http://www.raptor.cvm.umn.edu/
Phone: (612) 624-4745
I have an e-mail out to them, but you might want to give them a call.
They will probably want to know why you need the x-rays, etc. Are you
a student, artist, etc.? If you can let me know, that may help me in
my e-mail requests, also.
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Clarification of Question by
jtmandel-ga
on
16 May 2003 08:17 PDT
Cool! That looks really promising! The x-ray would need to have
enough detail to show the heart in relation to the sternum, and
IDEALLY would have frontal and lateral views. I could settle for less
I think.
As for me, I am a Ph.d. student who studies migration energetics. I
need this information for the appropriate design of implantable heart
rate loggers.
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Request for Question Clarification by
umiat-ga
on
16 May 2003 09:19 PDT
I am awaiting a call (supposed to be any minute) from the veterinarian
at:
The Raptor Center
1075 State Route 343
Yellow Springs, Ohio, 45387.
Call 937-767-7648.
http://www.glenhelen.org/raptor/Raptor.htm
I will let you know when I hear from her.
Since these are long-distance calls for me, you might want to also
contact:
Wildlife Rehab Center of the North Coast
PO Box 1232
Astoria, OR 97103
Phone: 503-338-0331
http://home.pacifier.com/~wrcnc/contact_us.html
Are you going to call the Gabbert Raptor Center, or did you want me
to? As I mentioned, I have e-mailed them.
By the way, your work sounds absolutely fascinating!
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Clarification of Question by
jtmandel-ga
on
16 May 2003 09:31 PDT
If you could handle the phone calls, that would be fabulous for me. I
live in Panama right now working on a different animal tracking
project, and phone calls are really difficult/expensive. You could
just let me know the cost of the calls + time, and I will put that in
the tip, if you don't mind, or whatever arrangement works best for
you.
thanks so much!!
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Request for Question Clarification by
umiat-ga
on
16 May 2003 10:36 PDT
I have made several phone calls. No luck yet! I am awaiting replies
from a few.
What if I run into a dead end? If I cannot find anything, do you want
me to list what I have done as an answer for phone call reimbursement?
I still have several resources to go through, so it will be next week,
anyway, before I have exhausted my search.
Wildlife Rehab Center of the North Coast - no xrays or drawings and no
referral
Cornell Ornithology Lab - had to leave a detailed message..awaiting
reply
Gabbert Raptor Center - left detailed message...awaiting reply (the
receptionist was very interested and let me explain the entire project
and request before transferring me to someone's voicemail :) )
The Raptor Center - still awaiting reply
Anatomy Art gallery - awaiting reply
Acorn Naturalists - nothing, notta, no referrrals either!
E-mail to Pafalafa's referral from skullsite
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Clarification of Question by
jtmandel-ga
on
16 May 2003 11:35 PDT
Hi,
That sounds fine. Let me know when you've exhausted your leads, and
then just post what you have and any relevant leads I could check,
costs for phone calls, etc, as an answer, and I'll gladly pay for
that. You've already saved me a ton of time!!
|
Hi, jtmandel!
I NEVER knew how elusive pictures of the anatomy of turkey vultures
could be......but one facility has come through with flying colors,
complete with x-rays and a willingness to consult with you about the
"caudal apex of the heart to sternum measurements."
The Gabbert Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota was kind
enough to search their files and find some x-rays of turkey vultures.
I have to give credit to Rachel Goossen, the veterinary technician,
who took the time to call me back and spend some time consulting with
the veterinarian about your specifics.
The center does have several frontal view x-rays, and one lateral
view x-ray of a turkey vulture. However, because all the birds they
deal with have some degree of trauma, she stressed that the x-rays do
not depict healthy birds.
The one lateral x-ray they have is of a vulture with lead poisoning,
so there is a degree of pericardial effusion (enlarged heart). I
thought this might affect the heart-sternum measurement you are
seeking, so I asked if you could consult with the veterinarian about a
normal measurement. Since you are currently out of the country, and
might need some information quickly, I asked for the veterinarian's
email.
The email address she gave me is for:
Dr. Arnaud Van Wettere,
Veterinary Resident
vanwe003@umn.edu
If for some reason that e-mail does not work, please see the entire
staff directory at http://www.raptor.cvm.umn.edu/content.asp?page=1011
(I notice his e-mail is different than the one she gave me! You may
want to contact other veterinarian's from that list as well.)
Now, for obtaining the x-rays:
The Center is very willing to send you copies at approximately $10
per x-ray. You will need to contact them with your name and shipping
address. I suggest you contact Rachel Goosen, since she was my prime
contact and will remember our exchange about turkey vulture x-rays!
Rachel Goossen
Certified Veterinary Technician
raichael@hotmail.com
Phone: 612-624-3761
====
In the event that you might want a complete, turkey vulture skeleton,
or a photo of one, I contacted several facilities.
Jan Jansen of www.skullsite.com replied with an e-mail:
"A friend of mine just mounted a complete skeleton of a turkey
vulture. Since I'm not sure what exactly you want to do with it (only
take pictures or buy the whole thing?) I'll just give you his email
address so you two can figure it out...:
Erwin van Zoelen
erwinvanzoelen@hotmail.com
Best regards & good luck,
Jan Jansen
===
I also spoke with Jay from Skulls Unlimited International, whose site
has a beautiful picture of a complete turkey vulture skeleton:
http://www.skullsunlimited.com/turkey_vulture.htm
I asked him if the skeleton was for sale, and he replied that it is
merely a demonstration of the work they do for museums. The actual
skeleton is housed at the Rodger Williams Park Museum of Natural
History in Providence, Rhode Island.
http://www.osfn.org/museum/
He did say that if you are on the east coast, the museum would not
have a problem with letting you examine the skeleton.
===
The Cornell Ornithology lab also replied and explained that internal
anatomy pictures of turkey vultures are nearly impossible to find. I
asked the contact why Ornithology textbooks wouldn't have a picture in
their "turkey vulture" section (if there was one!). He said that most
all bird anatomy drawings are based on the Chicken.
The Cornell lab gets their dead turkey vulture specimens from the
Raptor Trust in New Jersey. I asked if there might be someone you
could call at the Ornithology Lab who would do an exam to measure the
"caudal apex to sternum distance" in the event they got another
vulture in sometime soon, but he just chuckled and said they merely
turn them inside out and stuff them!!!! They don't do any internal
exam. He did mention rehab facilities as your "best bet" for getting
any internal pictures.
===
I am sorry to say that no one else replied to my calls or e-mails.
However, it seems that the X-rays from the Gabbert Raptor Center,
coupled with a conversation with the veterinarian about a normal "apex
to sternum ratio," and a possible skeletal photo from the reference
provided by Jan Jansen (above), might be enough to do the trick.
I could not get through to the Raptor Trust, so I have included their
contact information in case you want to contact them about X-rays,
also. They do not have an e-mail address listed, so you will have to
write or fax them if phone calls are out of the question right now.
The Raptor Trust
1390 White Bridge Road
Millington, NJ 07946
Phone: 908-647-2353
Fax: 908-647-8211
http://www.theraptortrust.org/
===========================================
Thank you for a very interesting journey! In my earlier life, I
worked as a wildlife biologist in Alaska, so your question really
piqued my interest. Just thinking about your work brings back many
wonderful memories of my own
As for phone call reimbursement, I don't have a phone bill yet.
However, I would assume the cost would not be more than $10.00.
Enjoy your work!! Not everyone gets to do something so interesting
and exciting!
umiat-ga
Search strategy
turkey vulture +skeleton
turkey vulture +anatomy
anatomy +turkey +vulture
(and more I have since forgotten!) |
