it is also notable that the attachment point of the tibiotarsal trochleae was flattened in "eremopezus", leaving little room for a bulky pad where the toes joined. in cursorial birds, this area is typically wide, to provide space for a large cushioning pad where the toes join, which improves balance during walking or running. the structure in "e. eocaenus", by contrast, must have allowed a much better toe-flexing ability. the shallow grooves on the trochleae allowed for considerable sideways mobility of the toes; if the single phalanx bone known is assigned correctly to this species (it is the best match in size by far), it is very wide at the proximal end and tapers noticeably distad. the third (middle) toe was the most robust and largest. the inner toe was about as large as the outer one, and attached noticeably more proximal on the tibiotarsus. there is a single foramen on the dorsal side of the tarsometatarsus, with a plantar exit hole between the third and fourth metacarpal's distal ends (presumably for the outer toe's adductor tendon) and another (presumably for nerves and blood vessels) on the plantar surface of the tarsometatarsus. the outer sides of the outer trochleae have a hook at their backward end, which together with deep pits for ligaments nearby must have served to hold strong tendons. its hallux was vestigial, as is typical for birds that move about on foot a lot; it even cannot be ruled out that the hallux was entirely missing (as in ratites).