Dodo Bird Skull Replica

Description

Dodo Bird Skull Replica (Raphus cucullatus) Information

Dodo bird skull replica measures 7.0 x 3.4 x 3.3 inches. Raphus cucullatus skull is museum-quality polyurethane resin cast from Royal Ontario Museum specimen. 2-part skull. (separate cranium and jaw). 1:1. Made in USA.

The dodo bird is an extinct flightless bird that was endemic to the island of Mauritius, east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean.

Many of the skeletal features that distinguish the dodo bird and the Rodrigues solitaire, its closest relative, from pigeons have been attributed to their flightlessness. The pelvic elements were thicker to support the higher weight.

The skull, trunk and pelvic limbs were peramorphic, meaning that they changed considerably with age. The dodo bird shared several other traits with the Rodrigues solitaire, such as features of the pelvis, and sternum, as well as their large size.

It differed in other aspects, such as being more robust and shorter than the solitaire, having a larger skull and beak, a rounded skull roof, and smaller orbits.

The dodo neck and legs were proportionally shorter, and it did not possess an equivalent to the knob present on the solitaire’s wrists.

The skull of the dodo bird differed much from those of other pigeons, especially in being more robust, the bill having a hooked tip, and in having a short cranium compared to the jaws.

The upper bill was nearly twice as long as the cranium, which was short compared to those of its closest pigeon relatives. The openings of the bony nostrils were elongated along the length of the beak, and they contained no bony septum.

The Dodo bird cranium was wider than it was long, and the frontal bone formed a dome shape, with the highest point above the hind part of the eye sockets.

The head sloped downwards at the back. The eye sockets occupied much of the hind part of the skull. The sclerotic rings inside the eye were formed by eleven small bones.

Scientific Classification:

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Aves
• Order: Columbiformes
• Family: Columbidae
• Subfamily: †Raphinae
• Genus: †Raphus
• Species: †R. cucullatus
• Binomial name: †Raphus cucullatus
• Conservation Status: Extinct

The dodo bird skull replica captures the specialized hooked bill and unique cranial morphology of the extinct Raphus cucullatus from the island of Mauritius. Biologists study these 1:1 scale casts taken from an original specimen at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) to analyze the evolutionary history of this iconic columbiform. Upgrade your natural history display with the great auk skull replica, American white pelican skull replica, and brown pelican skull replica. Find more high-fidelity specimens available in our bird or aves replica store.