University College London

Mike Taylor

Please welcome my new best friend, Veronica the ostrich.  Well, Veronica
the ostrich *head*, if you want to be picky.  She arrived yesterday
morning, courtesy of the good folks at
[﻿﻿Ostrichfayre](http://www.ostrichfayre.co.uk/), very well packaged and
still frozen and with a convenient little chunk of distal neck still
attached.  Here I am with Veronica, having made my way through the
packaging:

[![](https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/00-unpacking-dscn8326.jpg?w=480&h=360 "00-unpacking-DSCN8326"){.alignnone
.size-full .wp-image-2777 loading="lazy" attachment-id="2777"
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image-title="00-unpacking-DSCN8326" image-description=""
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medium-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/00-unpacking-dscn8326.jpg?w=300"
large-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/00-unpacking-dscn8326.jpg?w=1024"
width="480" height="360"
srcset="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/00-unpacking-dscn8326.jpg?w=480&h=360 480w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/00-unpacking-dscn8326.jpg?w=960&h=720 960w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/00-unpacking-dscn8326.jpg?w=150&h=113 150w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/00-unpacking-dscn8326.jpg?w=300&h=225 300w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/00-unpacking-dscn8326.jpg?w=768&h=576 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}](http://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/00-unpacking-dscn8326.jpg)

And here is Veronica herself, in left lateral view, measuring a healthy
24 cm (including that stump of neck, of course, so the prepped skull
will be rather shorter):

[![](https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/01-as-delivered-left-lateral1.jpeg?w=480&h=360 "01-as-delivered-left-lateral1"){.alignnone
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image-title="01-as-delivered-left-lateral1" image-description=""
image-caption=""
medium-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/01-as-delivered-left-lateral1.jpeg?w=300"
large-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/01-as-delivered-left-lateral1.jpeg?w=1024"
width="480" height="360"
srcset="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/01-as-delivered-left-lateral1.jpeg?w=480&h=360 480w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/01-as-delivered-left-lateral1.jpeg?w=960&h=720 960w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/01-as-delivered-left-lateral1.jpeg?w=150&h=113 150w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/01-as-delivered-left-lateral1.jpeg?w=300&h=225 300w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/01-as-delivered-left-lateral1.jpeg?w=768&h=576 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}](http://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/01-as-delivered-left-lateral1.jpeg)

Yes, of course I only love Veronica for her skull.  The soft-tissue is
probably fascinating, too, but I don't have the time (or the expertise
really) to do a proper dissection, so it's all about getting her naked
as quickly as possible.

I started out, as usual, with a couple of hours of gentle simmering to
soften all the gloop.  I used the three standard pieces of equipment: a
large pot, an easily cleaned ceramic hob, and [a very tolerant
wife](http://reprog.wordpress.com/2010/03/30/a-brief-yet-helpful-lesson-on-elementary-resource-locking-strategy/).
 Here she is (Veronica, I mean), cooking up nicely:

[![](https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/02-after-cooking-01-in-the-pot.jpeg?w=480&h=360 "02-after-cooking-01-in-the-pot"){.alignnone
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orig-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/02-after-cooking-01-in-the-pot.jpeg"
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image-title="02-after-cooking-01-in-the-pot" image-description=""
image-caption=""
medium-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/02-after-cooking-01-in-the-pot.jpeg?w=300"
large-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/02-after-cooking-01-in-the-pot.jpeg?w=1024"
width="480" height="360"
srcset="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/02-after-cooking-01-in-the-pot.jpeg?w=480&h=360 480w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/02-after-cooking-01-in-the-pot.jpeg?w=960&h=720 960w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/02-after-cooking-01-in-the-pot.jpeg?w=150&h=113 150w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/02-after-cooking-01-in-the-pot.jpeg?w=300&h=225 300w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/02-after-cooking-01-in-the-pot.jpeg?w=768&h=576 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}](http://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/02-after-cooking-01-in-the-pot.jpeg)

Once she'd cooled down, it was gratifyingly easy to peel off the skin:

[![](https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-left-lateral.jpeg?w=480&h=360 "03-skinned-left-lateral"){.alignnone
.size-full .wp-image-2780 loading="lazy" attachment-id="2780"
permalink="http://svpow.com/2010/06/23/things-to-make-and-do-part-6-fun-with-ostrich-heads/03-skinned-left-lateral/"
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orig-size="2272,1704" comments-opened="1"
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image-title="03-skinned-left-lateral" image-description=""
image-caption=""
medium-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-left-lateral.jpeg?w=300"
large-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-left-lateral.jpeg?w=1024"
width="480" height="360"
srcset="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-left-lateral.jpeg?w=480&h=360 480w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-left-lateral.jpeg?w=960&h=720 960w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-left-lateral.jpeg?w=150&h=113 150w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-left-lateral.jpeg?w=300&h=225 300w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-left-lateral.jpeg?w=768&h=576 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}](http://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-left-lateral.jpeg)

One thing I'd not appreciated about ostriches before I started playing
with Veronica is how tiny their beaks are.  Most of the snout is not
covered by beak, and the lower jaw in particular has only a few
centimeters of keratinous covering.  You can see this more clearly in
ventral view:

[![](https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-ventral.jpeg?w=480&h=360 "03-skinned-ventral"){.alignnone
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image-title="03-skinned-ventral" image-description="" image-caption=""
medium-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-ventral.jpeg?w=300"
large-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-ventral.jpeg?w=1024"
width="480" height="360"
srcset="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-ventral.jpeg?w=480&h=360 480w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-ventral.jpeg?w=960&h=720 960w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-ventral.jpeg?w=150&h=113 150w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-ventral.jpeg?w=300&h=225 300w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-ventral.jpeg?w=768&h=576 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}](http://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-ventral.jpeg)

Here you can see the very slender mandibular bones running along the
lateral edges of the lower jaw, with a thin sheet of muscle stretched
between them, and that tiny beak only up on the tip of the jaw.

I also noticed that the trachea seems to be positioned asymmetrically,
on the right side of the animal: I don't know whether this was its
permanent position in life, or whether it shifted around and simply
happened to get cooked into this position.

For the next step, I carefully removed most of that muscular sheet and
the trachea (and some of the neck musculature):

[![](https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-ventral-hyoid.jpeg?w=480&h=360 "03-skinned-ventral-hyoid"){.alignnone
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image-title="03-skinned-ventral-hyoid" image-description=""
image-caption=""
medium-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-ventral-hyoid.jpeg?w=300"
large-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-ventral-hyoid.jpeg?w=1024"
width="480" height="360"
srcset="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-ventral-hyoid.jpeg?w=480&h=360 480w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-ventral-hyoid.jpeg?w=960&h=720 960w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-ventral-hyoid.jpeg?w=150&h=113 150w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-ventral-hyoid.jpeg?w=300&h=225 300w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-ventral-hyoid.jpeg?w=768&h=576 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}](http://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-ventral-hyoid.jpeg)

Now you can see the cartilaginous hyoid apparatus that anchors the
tongue (that anchor-shaped thing).  This is very fragile, and I am
frankly not at all optimistic about its chances of making it through the
cleaning process.  I'm likely to end up with only the actual bones, so
enjoy the hyoid while you can.  (I similarly lost all the hyoid junk
from [my monitor
lizard](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2009/08/30/four-complete-articulated-extant-sauropod-skeletons-yes-really/).
 Bummer.  I must remember to show you more of Charlie's cleaned bones
some time.)

I leave you with Veronica's peeled head in dorsal view:

[![](https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-dorsal.jpeg?w=480&h=360 "03-skinned-dorsal"){.alignnone
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orig-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-dorsal.jpeg"
orig-size="2272,1704" comments-opened="1"
image-meta="{\"aperture\":\"7.7\",\"credit\":\"\",\"camera\":\"E4500\",\"caption\":\"\",\"created_timestamp\":\"1274551732\",\"copyright\":\"\",\"focal_length\":\"8.6\",\"iso\":\"100\",\"shutter_speed\":\"0.0013080444735121\",\"title\":\"\"}"
image-title="03-skinned-dorsal" image-description="" image-caption=""
medium-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-dorsal.jpeg?w=300"
large-file="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-dorsal.jpeg?w=1024"
width="480" height="360"
srcset="https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-dorsal.jpeg?w=480&h=360 480w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-dorsal.jpeg?w=960&h=720 960w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-dorsal.jpeg?w=150&h=113 150w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-dorsal.jpeg?w=300&h=225 300w, https://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-dorsal.jpeg?w=768&h=576 768w"
sizes="(max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px"}](http://svpow.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/03-skinned-dorsal.jpeg)

You can see that there's more beak on the upper jaw than on the lower.

This kind of photograph is invaluable when it comes to putting the bones
together at the end of the cleaning process.  You can see here that the
small bones ahead of the orbits (lacrimals?) are pulling away from the
main skull bones.  At some stage they're likely to come away completely,
and it's photos like this one that will show me where to reattach them.

There is a lot of cartilage on this skull, which is likely going to be
painful to remove without damaging the bones.  I gave Veronica another
bath last night, and I'll probably start trimming the softened cartilage
away this evening.

Further bulletins:

- [Veronica the ostrich head starts to come to
  pieces](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2010/06/24/things-to-make-and-do-part-6b-veronica-the-ostrich-head-starts-to-come-to-pieces/)
- [Fragments of ostrich
  skull](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/things-to-make-and-do-part-6c-fragments-of-ostrich-skull/)
- [Veronica the ostrich skull, laid
  bare](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2010/06/30/things-to-make-and-do-part-6d-veronica-the-ostrich-skull-laid-bare/)
- [Gloat your eyes, feast your soul, on my ostrich ethmoid
  ossification](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2010/07/19/things-to-make-and-do-part-6e-gloat-your-eyes-feast-your-soul-on-my-ostrich-ethmoid-ossification/)
- [My dumb observation of the day is that in dorsal view, a
  partly-assembled ostrich skull looks kind of like a
  chasmosaurine](http://svpow.wordpress.com/2010/07/24/things-to-make-and-do-part-6f-my-dumb-observation-of-the-day-is-that-in-dorsal-view-a-partly-assembled-ostrich-skull-looks-kind-of-like-a-chasmosaurine/)


Please welcome my new best friend, Veronica the ostrich.  Well, Veronica the ostrich
<em>
 head
</em>
, if you want to be picky.  She arrived yesterday morning, courtesy of the good folks at ﻿﻿Ostrichfayre, very well packaged and still frozen and with a convenient little chunk of distal neck still attached.

Rogue Scholar Beiträge

Things to Make and Do, part 6: fun with ostrich heads