pygostyle

American  

[pahy-guh-stahyl] / ˈpaɪ gəˌstaɪl /

noun

Ornithology.

1. the bone at the posterior end of the spinal column in birds, formed by the fusion of several caudal vertebrae.

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Other Word Forms

• pygostyled adjective
• pygostylous adjective

Etymology

Origin of pygostyle

1870–75; < Greek pȳgo- (combining form representing pȳgḗ rump) + stŷlos pillar

Example Sentences

The tail's anatomy enabled the scientists to rule out that it belonged to a bird because it was long and flexible and lacked a pygostyle, fused vertebrae that in birds support the tail feathers.

From Reuters • Dec. 8, 2016

"We can be sure of the source because the vertebrae are not fused into a rod or pygostyle as in modern birds and their closest relatives," he explained.

From BBC • Dec. 8, 2016

The last six or seven caudal vertebrae coalesce into the pygostyle, an upright blade which carries the rectrices.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7 "Bible" to "Bisectrix" by Various

Rump′-post, the share bone or pygostyle of a bird; Rump′-steak, steak cut from the thigh near the rump.—The rump, the remnant of the Long Parliament, after Col.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R) by Various

The pars caudifemoralis is flat, somewhat spindle-shaped, and passes anteroventrally from the pygostyle to the femur.

From Myology and Serology of the Avian Family Fringillidae A Taxonomic Study by Stallcup, William B.