Raptor hindlimbs and claws to understand prey–predator interactions

[Ben Creisler]

Ben Creisler

bcre...@gmail.com

A paper that may be of interest here:

Myriam E Amari, Emmanuelle Pouydebat, Laura M Biondi & Alexandra Houssaye (2026)
Talons full of talent: seeing beyond the tip of raptors’ claws to understand prey–predator interactions
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 207(2): zlag054
doi: https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlag054
https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-abstract/207/2/zlag054/8707829


Raptors, commonly known as birds of prey, are a highly diverse group of predatory birds that employ a wide range of hunting strategies and prey types. Although variations in hindlimb morphology reflect the functional pressures associated with capture and killing techniques, previous studies attempting to categorize raptors in ecological categories have focused on a restricted set of bones, sometimes only claws. Here, we aimed to identify relevant morphological parameters in extant raptor hindlimbs to understand and categorize prey–predator interactions in 11 defined categories. To do so, we collected data on 37 raptor specimens, measured 148 hindlimb parameters (length, proximal and distal widths and heights, shaft diameter of the femur, tibiotarsus, metatarsi, phalanges, and claws), computed a set of 141 custom ratios, and led quantitative comparative analyses. We found that phalanx morphology, much more than claw morphology, is responsible for a considerable amount of variation linked to predatory behaviour, and that relative distal and proximal phalange heights and widths are crucial parameters, especially in the third and fourth digits. These results offer great potential to include a higher number of species and to assess intraspecific variation with fewer parameters, and to improve palaeo-ecological inferences about extinct volant predatory birds. 

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