Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Plural form of
ratite .
Etymologies
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Examples
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Dave and I had a discussion today about flightlessness in ratites: a single evolution of flightlessness at the base of the clade, or multiple separate origins of it within the group?
Archive 2006-06-01 Darren Naish 2006
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Dave and I had a discussion today about flightlessness in ratites: a single evolution of flightlessness at the base of the clade, or multiple separate origins of it within the group?
More on what I saw at the zoo Darren Naish 2006
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Matthew Phillips of the Australian National University and his team have also dismissed previous theories that asserted all large, flightless birds - or 'ratites' - share a flightless common ancestor.
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Another lingering uncertainty is whether the ratites are a genuine kinship group, reflecting common evolutionary origin, or just an unrelated cluster of species that incidentally share bigness and flightlessness.
The Song of The Dodo David Quammen 2004
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Another lingering uncertainty is whether the ratites are a genuine kinship group, reflecting common evolutionary origin, or just an unrelated cluster of species that incidentally share bigness and flightlessness.
The Song of The Dodo David Quammen 2004
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"Many of the world's largest flightless birds, known as ratites, were thought to have shared a common flightless ancestor.
PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2010
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"Many of the world's largest flightless birds, known as ratites, were thought to have shared a common flightless ancestor.
PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news stories 2010
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The other large ratites, including ostriches and emus, have been known to kill people, as have certain raptors—usually defending their nests.
Birdology Sy Montgomery 2010
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Over the years, the dodo has been grouped with the carnivorous raptors; ratites, which include emus and ostriches; parrots; and shorebirds.
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Ducks, geese, swans (Anatidae) and ostriches, kiwis and tinamous (Struthioniformes/ratites) all have penises.
Boing Boing 2007
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