Emu Present day A second species they tested
was emu, the largest living bird after the ostrich and also flightless and
"primitive." This specimen had been
buried for about two years when its leg bones were exhumed for the study. As
with all its other specimens, the team dissolved the skeletal remains
in a weak acid that slowly eats away bone, including fossilized bone, but not
soft tissues. They were left with translucent blood vessels (above). This vessel's light pigment is thought to be compounds derived
from hemoglobin, which transports oxygen in the blood and lends red blood cells
their color.
