title: Morphofunctional study of the bill and hyoid apparatus of Momotus momota (Aves, Coraciiformes, Momotidae): implications for omnivorous feeding adaptation in motmots.
abstract: The present study contrasts available biological data and results of morphofunctional analyses of the bill and hyoid apparatus in motmots. It shows that these omnivorous birds, which take relatively large food items, possess osteomuscular peculiarities that enable them to process these items as a whole in order to soften or cut them, and make them suited for easy ingestion. For that, they use the crenate edges of their rhamphotheca. Their jaws work as a highly mobile saw-like system. Their mutual movements, enhanced by the fact that particular dispositions of the hyoid apparatus rise the tongue and the supported items high up into buccal cavity, facilitate an effective clamping of items that can be moved along the jaws and be quite appropriately processed.
authors.affiliation: Lomonossov State University of Moscow, Vorobievi Gori 119899, B-234 Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: Leonid P
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Korzun
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Erard
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Gasc
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001502:Beak / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D001717:Birds / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*; D006928:Hyoid Bone / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology*