A number of animals have evolved so as to be able to travel over the ground. Terrestrial locomotion has evolved many times as animals moved onto the land from the water. In biology and physics, animal locomotion is the study of how animals move, and is part of biophysics. ...

An example of terrestrial locomotion. A horse - an erect-stanced unguligrade quadruped - moving by a galloping gait. An animation of photos by Eadweard Muybridge

Image File history File links Muybridge_race_horse_animated. ... Image File history File links Muybridge_race_horse_animated. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... Unguligrade animals (termed ungulates) are those which walk on the tips of their toes, typically on hooves. ... The Zebra is an example of a quadruped. ... Horse gaits are the different ways in which a horse can move, either naturally or as a result of specialized training by humans. ... A gait can refer to: a particular way or manner of moving on foot: walking and running are the two basic human gaits; see also gait analysis and Gait (human). ... Eadweard Muybridge Muybridges The Horse in Motion. ...

Types of locomotion

There are three basic forms of locomotion found among terrestrial animals

• Legged - Moving by using appendages
• Slithering - moving using the bottom surface of the body
• Rolling - rotating the body over the substrate

An appendage is, in general, an external body part that projects from the body, or a natural prolongation or projection from a part of any organism. ...

Legged locomotion

Movement on appendages is the most common form of terrestrial locomotion, it is the basic form of locomotion of two major groups with many terrestrial members, the vertebrates and the arthropods. Important aspects of legged locomotion are stance - the way the body is supported by the legs, the number of legs - from two to many, and the foot shape - broad, on toes, etc. There are also many gaits - ways of moving the legs in order to locomote - such as walking, running, or hopping. Classes and Clades See below Male and female Superb Fairy-wren Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata (within the phylum Chordata), specifically, those chordates with backbones or spinal columns. ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - spiders,scorpions, etc. ... stance is a morpheme meaning stand, used in several ways: to take a position in an argument; refers to a particular standing posture, such as warrior postures in yoga. ... For other uses, see Foot (disambiguation). ... A gait can refer to: a particular way or manner of moving on foot: walking and running are the two basic human gaits; see also gait analysis and Gait (human). ... An animated demonstration of a six-legged insect walking. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Jumping Freighthopping Island hopping Movie hopping This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ...

Stance

Appendages can be used for movement in a number of ways. The stance, the way the body is supported by the legs, is an important aspect. Charig 1972 identified three main ways in which vertebrates support themselves with their legs - the sprawling stance, the semi-erect stance, and the fully erect stance. Some animals may use different stances in different circumstances, depending on the stance's mechanical and energetic advantages. stance is a morpheme meaning stand, used in several ways: to take a position in an argument; refers to a particular standing posture, such as warrior postures in yoga. ...

The most basic is the sprawling stance. Here the legs are used to drag the body over the land. This is the earliest form of use of legs on land. Amphibious fish such as the mudskipper drag themselves across land on their sturdy fins. Many reptiles and amphibians, some or all of the time, use this method of locomotion. Among invertebrates there is anecdotal evidence that some octopus species (such as the Pinnoctopus genus), sometimes to pursue prey between rockpools, can also drag themselves across land a short distance by hauling its body along by it tentacles, see [1]. There may be video evidence of this [2]. Amphibious fish are fish that are able to leave water for extended periods of time. ... Mudskippers are members of the olmeferous family Oxudercinae (tribe: Periophthalmini[1]), within the family Gobiidae (Gobies). ... Orders  Crocodilia - Crocodilians scary crocodiles. ... For other uses, see Amphibian (disambiguation). ... Invertebrate is a term that describes any animal without a spinal column. ... Suborders †Pohlsepia (incertae sedis) †Proteroctopus (incertae sedis) †Palaeoctopus (incertae sedis) Cirrina Incirrina Synonyms Octopoida Leach, 1817 The octopus (Greek , eight-legs) is a cephalopod of the order Octopoda that inhabits many diverse regions of the ocean, especially coral reefs. ...

The second form of stance found among legged terrestrial animals is the semi-erect stance. Here the legs are to the side, but the body is held above the substrate. This mode of locomotion is found among some reptiles and amphibians. It is also the main stance of the crocodilians. A few mammals, such as the platypus also use this stance. Among the invertebrates most arthropods, which includes the most diverse group of animals - the insects, have a stance which might best be described as semi-erect. Subclasses Anapsida Diapsida Synonyms Reptilia Laurenti, 1768 Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane, and members of the class Sauropsida. ... Subclasses and Orders Order Temnospondyli - extinct Subclass Lepospondyli - extinct Subclass Lissamphibia   Anura   Caudata   Gymnophiona Amphibians (class Amphibia; from Greek αμφις both and βιος life) are a taxon of animals that include all living tetrapods (four-legged vertebrates) that do not have amniotic eggs, are ectotherms, and generally spend part of their time... Suborders Eusuchia Protosuchia † Mesosuchia † Sebecosuchia † Thalattosuchia † Crocodilia is an order of large reptiles that scientists believe branched off from class Reptilia about 220 million years ago. ... Binomial name Ornithorhynchus anatinus (Shaw, 1799) Platypus range (indicated by darker shading)[3] The Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia and Tasmania. ... Invertebrate is a term that describes any animal without a spinal column. ... Subphyla and Classes Subphylum Trilobitomorpha Trilobita - trilobites (extinct) Subphylum Chelicerata Arachnida - spiders,scorpions, etc. ... Orders See taxonomy Insects (Class Insecta) are a major group of arthropods and the most diverse group of animals on the Earth, with over a million described species — more than all other animal groups combined [1]. Insects may be found in nearly all environments on the planet, although only a...

Finally there is the main form of stance of mammal and birds, the fully erect stance. In these groups the legs are placed beneath the body. This is often linked with the evolution of endothermy (Bakker 1988). The fully erect stance is not necessarily the 'most-evolved' stance, evidence suggests that crocodilians evolved a semi-erect stance from ancestors with fully erect stance as a result of adapting to a mostly aquatic lifestyle (Reilly & Elias 1998). For example, the mesozoic prehistoric crocodilian Erpetosuchus is believed to have had a fully erect stance and been terrestrial [3]. Subclasses Allotheria* Order Multituberculata (extinct) Order Volaticotheria (extinct) Order Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Order Triconodonta (extinct) Prototheria Order Monotremata Theria Infraclass Marsupialia Infraclass Eutheria The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in females for the nourishment of young, from mammary glands present on most species... “Aves” redirects here. ... In chemistry, an endothermic reaction is one that requires heat to break the bonds of the reactants. ... The Mesozoic Era is one of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic eon. ...

Number of legs

The number of locomotory appendages varies much between animals, and sometimes the same animal may use different numbers of its legs in different circumstances. The best contender for unipedal movement is the springtail, which while typically hexapedal, hurls itself away from danger using its furcula, a tail-like forked rod that can be rapidly unfurled from the underside of its body. Families [1] Suborder Arthropleona Superfamily Entomobryoidea Entomobryidae Isotomidae Oncopoduridae Paronellidae Tomoceridae Superfamily Poduroidea Brachystomellidae Hypogastruridae Neanuridae Odontellidae Onychiuridae Poduridae Suborder Symphypleona Dicyrtomidae Katiannidae Sminthuridae Sminthurididae Bourletiellidae Arrhopalitidae Springtails (Order Collembola) form the largest of the three orders of modern hexapods that are no longer considered to be insects (along with... The furcula is a tail-like appendage shaped like a fork, found on the fourth abdominal segment of springtails. ... A scorpion tail A tail is the section at the rear end of an animals body, the term particularly referring to such a section which forms a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. ...

A fair number of species move and stand on two legs, that is, are bipedal. The group that is exclusively bipedal is the birds, which have an alternating gait. There are also a number of bipedal mammals. Most bipedal mammals move by hopping - the macropods and various jumping rodents. Only a few mammals such as humans and the giant pangolin commonly show an alternating bipedal gait. Also cockroaches and some lizards may run on their two hind legs. Macropods such as kangaroos are the only example of tripedal movement. They have thick muscular tails and when moving slowly may alternate between resting their weight on their tails and their two hind legs. A biped is an animal that travels across surfaces supported by two legs. ... “Aves” redirects here. ... Genera Lagostrophus Dendrolagus Dorcopsis Dorcopsulus Lagorchestes Macropus Onychogalea Petrogale Setonix Thylogale Wallabia Tree kangaroos have smaller ears for easier maneuvering between tree branches, and much longer tail. ... Suborders Sciuromorpha Castorimorpha Myomorpha Anomaluromorpha Hystricomorpha Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents. ... Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin: wise man or knowing man) under the family Hominidae (the great apes). ... Binomial name Manis gigantea , The Giant Pangolin is the largest species of pangolin, found in Africa. ... Families Blaberidae Blattellidae Blattidae Cryptocercidae Polyphagidae Nocticolidae Cockroaches are insects of the Order Blattodea. ... For other uses, see Lizard (disambiguation). ... Genera Lagostrophus Dendrolagus Dorcopsis Dorcopsulus Lagorchestes Macropus Onychogalea Petrogale Setonix Thylogale Wallabia Tree kangaroos have smaller ears for easier maneuvering between tree branches, and much longer tail. ... Species Macropus rufus Macropus giganteus Macropus fuliginosus Macropus antilopinus A kangaroo is any of several large animals of the Macropodidae, a marsupial family that also includes the wallabies, tree-kangaroos, wallaroos, pademelons and the Quokka, some 63 living species in all. ... A number of animals have evolved so as to be able to travel over the ground. ...

With the exception of the birds, all terrestrial vertebrate groups are mostly quadrupedal - the mammals, the reptiles, and the amphibians usually move on four legs. There are many quadrupedal gaits. The most diverse group of animals on earth, the insects, are included in a larger taxon known as hexapods, most of which are hexapedal, walking and standing on six legs. Exceptions among the insects include praying mantises which are quadrapeds, their front two legs having been modified for grasping, and some kinds of insect larva who may have no legs (e.g. maggots) or additional prolegs (e.g. caterpillars). “Aves” redirects here. ... A quadruped is an animal having exactly four walking legs. ... Subclasses Allotheria* Order Multituberculata (extinct) Order Volaticotheria (extinct) Order Palaeoryctoides (extinct) Order Triconodonta (extinct) Prototheria Order Monotremata Theria Infraclass Marsupialia Infraclass Eutheria The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in females for the nourishment of young, from mammary glands present on most species... Subclasses Anapsida Diapsida Synonyms Reptilia Laurenti, 1768 Reptiles are tetrapods and amniotes, animals whose embryos are surrounded by an amniotic membrane, and members of the class Sauropsida. ... Subclasses and Orders Order Temnospondyli - extinct Subclass Lepospondyli - extinct Subclass Lissamphibia   Anura   Caudata   Gymnophiona Amphibians (class Amphibia; from Greek αμφις both and βιος life) are a taxon of animals that include all living tetrapods (four-legged vertebrates) that do not have amniotic eggs, are ectotherms, and generally spend part of their time... Orders See taxonomy Insects (Class Insecta) are a major group of arthropods and the most diverse group of animals on the Earth, with over a million described species — more than all other animal groups combined [1]. Insects may be found in nearly all environments on the planet, although only a... A taxon (plural taxa), or taxonomic unit, is a grouping of organisms (named or unnamed). ... Classes & Orders Class Insecta (insects) Unplaced orders:    Order Diplura    Order Collembola (springtails)    Order Protura The subphylum Hexapoda constitutes the largest (in terms of number of species) grouping of arthropods and includes the insects as well as a few much smaller groups of wingless arthropods closely related to insects: Collembola, Protura... A larva (Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians). ... Look up maggot in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... The striking caterpillar of the Emperor Gum Moth A caterpillar is the larval form of a lepidopteran (a member of the insect order comprised of butterflies and moths). ...

Spiders and many of their relatives move on eight legs - are octopedal. However, some creatures move on many more legs. Terrestrial Crustaceans may have a fair number - woodlice having fourteen legs. Also, as previously mentioned, some insect larvae such as caterpillars have up to six additional fleshy prolegs in addition to the six legs standard to insects. Some species of invertebrate have even more legs, the unusual velvet worm having stubby legs under the length of its body, with around several dozen pairs of legs. Centipedes have one pair of legs per body segment, with typically around 50 legs, but some species having over 200. The terrestrial animals with the most legs are the millipedes, relatives of the centipedes. They have two pairs of legs per body segment, with common species having between 80 and 400 legs overall. However, the rare species Illacme plenipes can have up to 750 legs. Animals with many legs typically move by waves of motion travelling over their legs. Diversity 111 families, 40,000 species Suborders Mesothelae Mygalomorphae Araneomorphae  See table of families Closeup image of a Wolf Spider Wikispecies has information related to: Spiders Spiders are predatory invertebrate animals that have two body segments, eight legs, no chewing mouth parts and no wings. ... Classes & Subclasses Branchiopoda Phyllopoda Sarsostraca Remipedia Cephalocarida Maxillopoda Thecostraca Tantulocarida Branchiura Pentastomida Mystacocarida Copepoda Ostracoda Myodocopa Podocopa Malacostraca Phyllocarida Hoplocarida Eumalacostraca The crustaceans (Crustacea) are a large group of arthropods, comprising approximately 52,000 described species [1], and are usually treated as a subphylum [2].They include various familiar animals... Infraorders and Families Not necessarily a complete list Infraorders: Ligiamorpha Tylomorpha Families: Dubioniscidae Irmaosidae Pseudarmadillidae Scleropactidae Armadillidium vulgare A woodlouse, also known as a pill bug (genus Armadillidium only), armadillo bug, sow bug, slater, ball bug, or roley-poley, is a terrestrial crustacean with a rigid, segmented, calcareous exoskeleton and... The striking caterpillar of the Emperor Gum Moth A caterpillar is the larval form of a lepidopteran (a member of the insect order comprised of butterflies and moths). ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Genera Peripatus . ... For the arcade game called Centipede see Centipede (video game). ... Subclasses Helminthomorpha Penicillata Pentazonia Millipedes (Class Diplopoda, previously also known as Chilognatha) are very elongated arthropods with cylindrical bodies that have two pairs of legs for each one of their 20 to 100 or more body segments (except for the first segment behind the head which does not have any... Orders Geophilomorpha Lithobiomorpha Scolopendromorpha Scutigeromorpha Centipedes (Class Chilopoda) are fast-moving venomous, predatory, terrestrial arthropods that have long bodies and many jointed legs. ... Illacme plenipes is a species of millipede living in Central California, the only one coming even close to living up to its name -- millipede means thousand feet in Greek. ...

Foot

The basic form of the vertebrate foot is similar. However where on the foot the animals weight is placed can vary greatly between vertebrates. Most vertebrates, the amphibians, the reptiles, and some mammals such as humans and bears are plantigrade, walking on the whole of the underside of the foot. Many mammals, such as cats and dogs are digitigrade, walking on their toes, the greater stride length allowing more speed. Digitigrade mammals are also often adept at quiet movement. Birds are also digitigrade [4]. Some animals such as horses are unguligrade, walking on the tips of their toes, this even further increases their stride length and thus their speed. A few mammals are also known to walk on their knuckles, at least for their front legs. Knuckle-walking allows the foot (hand) to specialise for food gathering and/or climbing, as with the great apes and the extinct chalicotheres, or for swimming, as with the platypus. In animals where feet have evolved into functional hands, hand walking is also possible. For other uses, see Foot (disambiguation). ... Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin: wise man or knowing man) under the family Hominidae (the great apes). ... Genera Ailuropoda Helarctos Melursus Ursus Tremarctos Arctodus (extinct) A bear is a small mammal in the family Ursidae of the order Carnivora. ... Human skeleton, showing plantigrade habit In mammals, plantigrade locomotion means walking with the podials and metatarsals flat on the ground. ... Trinomial name Felis catus Linnaeus, 1758 The cat (or domestic cat, house cat) is a small carnivorous mammal. ... Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris The dog Canis lupus is a type of canine, a mammal in the order Carnivora. ... A digitigrade is an animal that stands or walks on its digits, or toes. ... Binomial name Equus caballus Linnaeus, 1758 The horse (Equus caballus, sometimes seen as a subspecies of the Wild Horse, Equus ferus caballus) is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus. ... Unguligrade animals (termed ungulates) are those which walk on the tips of their toes, typically on hooves. ... The knuckle is the joint of a finger, which, when the hand is shut, is brought into prominence. ... Gorillas knuckle-walk using both their legs and their long arms (putting pressure on their knuckles, with the fingers rolled into the hand). ... Genera Subfamily Ponginae Pongo - Orangutans Gigantopithecus (extinct) Sivapithecus (extinct) Subfamily Homininae Gorilla - Gorillas Pan - Chimpanzees Homo - Humans Paranthropus (extinct) Australopithecus (extinct) Sahelanthropus (extinct) Ardipithecus (extinct) Kenyanthropus (extinct) Pierolapithecus (extinct) (tentative) The Hominids (Hominidae) are a biological family which includes humans, extinct species of humanlike creatures and the other great apes... Chalicotheres were a group of perissodactyl mammals that lived from 45 to 3. ... Binomial name Ornithorhynchus anatinus (Shaw, 1799) Platypus range (indicated by darker shading)[3] The Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia and Tasmania. ... For other uses, see Hand (disambiguation). ... Hand walking is an unusual form of locomotion, in which the walker moves primarily using their hands. ...

Gaits

A galloping horse.

Animals show a vast range of gaits, the order that they place and lift their appendages in locomotion. Walking is the most common gait, where some feet are on the ground at any given time, and found in almost all legged animals. Running is considered to occur when at some points in the gait all feet are off the ground. This can be found in many animals, and is a faster but more energetically costly form of locomotion. Animals will use different gaits for different speeds, terrain, and situations. For example horses show four natural gaits, the slowest horse gait is the walk, then there are three faster running gaits which, from slowest to fastest, are the trot, the canter, and the gallop. Animals may also have unusual gaits that are used occasionally, such as for moving sideways or backwards. For example, the main human gaits are bipedal walking and running, but they employ many other gaits occasionally, including a four-legged crawl in tight spaces. Image File history File links Muybridge_horse_gallop_animated_2. ... Image File history File links Muybridge_horse_gallop_animated_2. ... A gait can refer to: a particular way or manner of moving on foot: walking and running are the two basic human gaits; see also gait analysis and Gait (human). ... An animated demonstration of a six-legged insect walking. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Horse gaits are the different ways in which a horse can move, either naturally or as a result of specialized training by humans. ... Walking is the main form of animal locomotion on land, distinguished from running and crawling. ... The trot is a gait of the horse where the diagonal pairs of legs move forwards at the same time. ... Horse gaits are the different methods by which a horse, either naturally or through human training, moves itself. ... Studio Laura Gallop ) is a Japanese animation studio. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... An animated demonstration of a six-legged insect walking. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The word crawl has a number of uses: Crawling is to move in a slow, creeping fashion, usually dragging the body along the ground by using the hands and knees. ...

In walking, and for many animals running, the motion of legs on either side of the body alternates, i.e. is out of phase. Other animals, such as a horse when galloping, or an inchworm, alternate between their front and back legs. An alternative to a gait which alternates between legs is hopping or saltation, where all legs move together. As a main means of locomotion, this is usually found in bipeds or semi-bipeds. Among the mammals saltation is commonly used among macropods (kangaroos and their relatives), jerboas, springhares, kangaroo rats, hopping mice, and gerbils. Certain tendons in kangaroo hind legs are very elastic, allowing kangaroos to effectively bounce along conserving energy from hop to hop, making hopping a very energy efficient way to move around in their nutrient poor environment. Saltation is also used by many small birds. Frogs and fleas also hop. Author: Leach, 1815 Type species: Geometra papilionaria (large emerald moth) Diversity: 2,000? genera 26,000 species Subfamilies Alsophilinae Archiearinae Desmobathrinae Ennominae Geometrinae Larentiinae Oenochrominae Orthostixinae Sterrhinae Genera Geometra (etc) Inchworm redirects here. ... Genera Lagostrophus Dendrolagus Dorcopsis Dorcopsulus Lagorchestes Macropus Onychogalea Petrogale Setonix Thylogale Wallabia Tree kangaroos have smaller ears for easier maneuvering between tree branches, and much longer tail. ... Species Macropus rufus Macropus giganteus Macropus fuliginosus Macropus antilopinus A kangaroo is any of several large animals of the Macropodidae, a marsupial family that also includes the wallabies, tree-kangaroos, wallaroos, pademelons and the Quokka, some 63 living species in all. ... Genera 10 genera in 5 subfamilies Jerboas are the members of the family Dipodidae; they are small jumping desert rodents of Asia and northern Africa that resemble mice with a long tufted tail and very long hind legs. ... Binomial name Pedetes capensis (Forster, 1778) The Springhare (Pedetes capensis), or Springhaas, is not actually a hare, but a member of the order Rodentia; it is the only species in its family Pedetidae and in the genus Pedetes. ... Species 22, see text Kangaroo rats, genus Dipodomys, are small rodents native to North America. ... Species alexis cervinus fuscus mitchelli aquillo longicaudatus amplus macrotis mordax sp. ... Genera Gerbillus Microdillus Meriones Rhombomys Psammomys Sekeetamys Brachiones Desmodilliscus Pachyuromys Tatera Taterillus Desmodillus Gerbillurus Ammodillus A gerbil is a small mammal of the order Rodentia. ... Look up elastic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The term Bounce has several meanings: Look up bounce in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Distribution of frogs (in black) Suborders Archaeobatrachia Mesobatrachia Neobatrachia - List of Anuran families The frog is an amphibian in the order Anura (meaning tail-less from Greek an-, without + oura, tail), formerly referred to as Salientia (Latin saltare, to jump). ... Families Tungidae â€“ sticktight and chigoe fleas (chiggers) Pulicidae â€“ common fleas Coptopsyllidae Vermipsyllidae â€“ carnivore fleas Rhopalopsyllidae â€“ marsupial fleas Hypsophthalmidae Stephanocircidae Pygiopsyllidae Hystrichopsyllidae â€“ rat and mouse fleas Leptopsyllidae â€“ mouse and rat fleas Ischnopsyllidae â€“ bat fleas Ceratophyllidae:-fleas mainly associated with rodents Amphipsyllidae Malacopsyllidae Dolichopsyllidae â€“ rodent fleas Ctenopsyllidae Flea is the common name...

Most animals move in the direction of their head. However there are some exceptions. Crabs move sideways, and naked mole rats which live in tight tunnels underground can move backward or forward with equal facility. Superfamilies Dromiacea Homolodromioidea Dromioidea Homoloidea Eubrachyura Raninoidea Cyclodorippoidea Dorippoidea Calappoidea Leucosioidea Majoidea Hymenosomatoidea Parthenopoidea Retroplumoidea Cancroidea Portunoidea Bythograeoidea Xanthoidea Bellioidea Potamoidea Pseudothelphusoidea Gecarcinucoidea Cryptochiroidea Pinnotheroidea * Ocypodoidea * Grapsoidea * An asterisk (*) marks the crabs included in the clade Thoracotremata. ... Binomial name Heterocephalus glaber Rüppell, 1842 The Naked Mole Rat (Heterocephalus glaber), also known as the Sand Puppy, or desert mole rat, is a very unusual burrowing rodent native to parts of East Africa, predominately South Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. ...

Gait analysis is the study of gait in humans and other animals. This may involve videoing subjects with markers on particular anatomical landmarks and measuring the forces of their footfall using floor transducers (strain gauges). Skin electrodes may also be used to measure muscle activity. Gait analysis is the process of quantification and interpretation of human locomotion. ... A transducer is a device, usually electrical or electronic, that converts one type of energy to another. ... Typical foil strain gauge. ... An electrode is a conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit (e. ... Bold text == A top-down view of skeletal muscle Muscle (from Latin musculus little mouse[1]) is contractile tissue of the body and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. ...

References

• Charig, A.J. (1972) The evolution of the archosaur pelvis and hind-limb: an explanation in functional terms. In Studies in Vertebrate Evolution (eds K.A.Joysey and T.S.Kemp). Oliver & Boyd, Edinburgh, pp.121-55.

• Reilly, Stephen M. and Elias, Jason A. 1998, Locomotion in alligator mississippiensis: kinematic effects of speed and posture and their relevance to the sprawling-to-erect paradigm, J. exp. Biol 201,2559-2574. pdf

See also

• Walking fish

A mudskipper, a type of walking fish, perched on land. ...

External links

• Adaptations of running animals
• Crocodile stance
• Tetrapod stance

Slithering

There are a number of terrestrial and amphibious limbless vertebrates and invertebrates. These animals, due to lacking appendages, move by slithering on their underside. Slithering is also known as crawling, although this is also used for some animals moving on all four limbs. All limbless animals come from cold-blooded groups, there are no endothermic limbless animals, i.e. there are no limbless birds or mammals. Lizards have evolved limbless form on a number of occasions. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... In thermodynamics, the word endothermic describes a process or reaction that absorbs energy in the form of heat. ...

Lower body surface

Where the foot is important to the legged mammal, for animals that slither the underside of the body is important. Some animals such as snakes or legless lizards move on their smooth dry underside. Other animals have various features that aid movement. Molluscs such as Slugs and snails move on a layer of mucus that is secreted from their underside, reducing friction and protecting from injury when moving over sharp objects. Earthworms have small bristles (setae) that hook into the substrate and help them move. Some animals such as leeches have suction cups on either end of the body allowing two anchor movement. blue: sea snakes, black: land snakes Superfamilies and Families Henophidia Aniliidae Anomochilidae Boidae Bolyeriidae Cylindrophiidae Loxocemidae Pythonidae Tropidophiidae Uropeltidae Xenopeltidae Typhlopoidea Anomalepididae Leptotyphlopidae Typhlopidae Xenophidia Acrochordidae Atractaspididae Colubridae Elapidae Hydrophiidae Viperidae For other uses, see Snake (disambiguation). ... Classification Family Pygopodidae Subfamily Pygopodinae Genus Paradelma Genus Pygopus Genus Delma Subfamily Lialisinae Tribus Lialisini Genus Lialis Tribus Aprasiaini Subtribus Pletholaxini Genus Pletholax Subtribus Aprasiaini Genus Ophidiocephalus Genus Aprasia Categories: | ... Classes Caudofoveata Aplacophora Polyplacophora - Chitons Monoplacophora Bivalvia - Bivalves Scaphopoda - Tusk shells Gastropoda - Snails and Slugs Cephalopoda - Squids, Octopuses, etc. ... Slugs are gastropod mollusks without shells or with very small internal shells, in contrast to snails, which have a prominent coiled shell. ... The name snail applies to most members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells. ... Mucus is a slippery secretion of the lining of various membranes in the body (mucous membranes). ... Friction is the force that opposes the relative motion or tendency toward such motion of two surfaces in contact. ... Families   Acanthodrilidae   Ailoscolecidae   Alluroididae   Almidae   Biwadrilidae   Eudrilidae   Exxidae   Glossoscolecidae   Lumbricidae   Lutodrilidae   Megascolecidae   Microchaetidae   Ocnerodrilidae   Octochaetidae   Sparganophilidae Earthworm is the common name for the larger members of the Oligochaeta (which is either a class or subclass depending on the author) in the phylum Annelida. ... A seta is a stiff hair, bristle, or bristle-like process or part of an organism. ... Orders Arhynchobdellida Rhynchobdellida *There is some dispute as to whether Hirudinea should be a class itself, or a subclass of the Clitellata. ...

Type of movement

Some limbless animals, such as leeches, have suction cups on either end of their body, which allow them to move by anchoring the rear end and then moving forward the front end, which is then anchored and then the back end is pulled in, and so on. This is know as two-anchor movement. A legged animal, the inchworm, also moves like this, clasping with appendages at either end of its body. Author: Leach, 1815 Type species: Geometra papilionaria (large emerald moth) Diversity: 2,000? genera 26,000 species Subfamilies Alsophilinae Archiearinae Desmobathrinae Ennominae Geometrinae Larentiinae Oenochrominae Orthostixinae Sterrhinae Genera Geometra (etc) Inchworm redirects here. ...

Limbless animals can also move using pedal locomotary waves, rippling the underside of the body. This is the main method used by molluscs such as slugs and snails, and also large flatworms, and some other worms. The waves may move in the opposite direction to motion, known as retrograde waves, or in the same direction as motion, known as direct waves. Earthworms move by retrograde waves alternatively swelling and contracting down the length of their body, the swollen sections being held in place using setae. Aquatic molluscs such as limpets, which are sometimes out of the water, tend to move using retrograde waves. However terrestrial molluscs such as slugs and snails tend to use direct waves. Lugworms also use direct waves. Classes Caudofoveata Aplacophora Polyplacophora - Chitons Monoplacophora Bivalvia - Bivalves Scaphopoda - Tusk shells Gastropoda - Snails and Slugs Cephalopoda - Squids, Octopuses, etc. ... A seta is a stiff hair, bristle, or bristle-like process or part of an organism. ... Suborders See text. ... This is a large worm living in sand on the seabed. ...

Most snakes move using lateral undulation where a lateral wave travels down the snakes body in the opposite direction to the snakes motion and pushes the snake off irregularities in the ground. This is not effective on a very flat surface. Another form of locomotion, rectilinear locomotion, is used at times by some snakes, especially large ones such as pythons and boa. Here large scales on the underside of the body, known as scutes are used to push backwards and downwards. This is effective on a flat surface and is used for slow, silent movement, such as when stalking prey. Snakes use concertina locomotion for moving slowly in burrows or among rocks, here the snake alternates in bracing parts of its body on it surrounds. Finally the caenophidian snakes use the fast and unusual method of movement known as sidewinding on sand or loose soil, where the snake moves sideways. The snake cycles through throwing the front part of its body sideways in the direction of motion and bringing the back part of it body into line. Lateral undulation is the most primitive of vertebrate locomotor patterns, present even in hagfish, lampreys, and lancelets. ... Rectilinear locomotion is a mode of locomotion most often associated with snakes, particularly heavy-bodied species like terrestrial pythons and boas, athough most snakes are capable of it. ... Genera Aspidites Antaresia Apodora Bothrochilus Leiopython Liasis Morelia Python Python is the common name for a group of non-venomous constricting snakes, specifically the family Pythonidae. ... Boa Kwon (born November 5, 1986 in Guri, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea) is a South Korean singer who is better known by her stage name BoA. She is active in South Korea and Japan. ... A scute (Latin scutum, shield) is a horny, chitinous, or bony external plate or scale, as on the shell of a turtle or the underside of a snake. ... Concertina movement is the movement occurring in snakes and other legless organisms that consists of gripping with portions of the body while pulling/pushing other sections in the direction of movement. ... Caenophidia is the technical term for a group of snakes known as the advanced snakes. It is evolutionary group that contains vipers, elapids, sea snakes, and colubrids. ... Crotalus scutulatus, Mojave rattlesnake, sidewinding Sidewinding is a type of locomotion unique to caenophidian snakes, used to move across loose or slippery substrates. ...

External links

• Lecture on crawling (slithering) at Berkeley
• Animation of earthworm movement by a propagating retrograde wave

Rolling

Although animals have never evolved wheels for locomotion (yet bacteria have for their flagella), a small number of animals will move at times by rolling their whole body. Rolling animals can be divided into those which roll under the force of gravity and those which roll using their own power. The force bearing on the axle has an eccentricity e with the point of contact to the rolling surface and exerts a moment about the contact point A wheel is a circular device capable of rotating on its axis, facilitating movement or transportation or performing labour in machines. ... Phyla Actinobacteria Aquificae Chlamydiae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Lentisphaerae Nitrospirae Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Verrucomicrobia Bacteria (singular: bacterium) are unicellular microorganisms. ... A flagellum (plural, flagella) is a whip-like organelle that many unicellular organisms, and some multicellular ones, use to move about. ...

Gravity assisted

Web-toed salamander. This 10cm long salamander lives on steep hills in the Sierra Nevada mountains. When it's disturbed or startled it coils itself up into a little ball often causing it to roll down hill (García-París & Deban 1995). See [5]. The Sierra Nevada is a mountain range that is almost entirely in the eastern portion of the U.S. state of California. ...

Namib wheeling spiders (Carparachne spp.), found in the Namib desert, will actively roll down sand dunes. This action can be used to successfully escape predators such as the Pompilidae tarantula wasps which lays its eggs in a paralyzed spider so the larvae have enough food when they hatch. The spiders flip their body sideways and then cartwheel over their bent legs. The rotation is fast, with the golden wheel Spider (Carparachne aureoflava) moving up to 20 revolutions per second, moving the spider at 1 metre per second. At this speed the spider appears only as a blurred ball. A video of a wheeling spider in the Namib can be found at [6]. More videos of Namib wheeling spiders, showing wheeling and wasp/spider interactions can be found at [7]. This spider was studied by Dr Joh Henschel of the Gobabeb Training & Research Centre. See [8]. Dune 7, the highest sand dune in the world, in the Namib Desert, Namibia. ... Genera many (35 in North America)   Spider wasps, also called pompilid wasps or spider-hunting wasps, are insects belonging to a diverse family named Pompilidae, of the order Hymenoptera. ...

Pangolins, a type of mammal covered in thick scales rolls into a tight ball when threatened. Pangolins has been reported to roll away from danger, by both gravity and self-powered methods. A pangolin in hill country in Sumatra, in order to flee from the researcher, was observed to run to the edge of a slope and then curl into a ball and roll down the slope, crashing through the vegetation, and covering an estimated 30 metres of more in 10 seconds (Tenaza 1975). Species Manis culionensis Manis gigantea Manis temmincki Manis tricuspis Manis tetradactyla Manis crassicaudata Manis pentadactyla Manis javanica Pangolins (pănggə-lĭn) or scaly anteaters are mammals in the Pholidota order. ... Sumatra (also spelled Sumatera) is the sixth largest island of the world (approximately 470,000 km²) and is the largest island entirely in Indonesia (two larger islands, Borneo and New Guinea, are partially in Indonesia). ...

Self-powered

Caterpillar of the Mother-Of-Pearl Moth, Pleurotya ruralis. This research was done by John Brackenbury at University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. When attacked, this caterpillar will touch it head to its tail and roll backwards, up to 5 revolutions at about 40 cm per second, which is about 40 times its normal speed. See [9]. The striking caterpillar of the Emperor Gum Moth A caterpillar is the larval form of a lepidopteran (a member of the insect order comprised of butterflies and moths). ...

Nannosquilla decemspinosa, a species of long bodied, short legged, Mantis Shrimp lives in shallow sandy areas along the Pacific coast of Central and South America. When stranded a low tide the 3cm stomatopod lies on its back and performs backwards somersaults over and over. The animal moves up to 2 meters at a time by rolling 20-40 times, with speeds of around 72 revolutions per minute. That is 1.5 body lengths per second (3.5 cm/s). Researchers estimate that the stomatopod acts as a true wheel around 40% of the time during this series of rolls. The remaining 60% of the time it has to "jumpstart" a roll by using its body to thrust itself upwards and forwards. See [10] and [11]. Discovered in 1979 by Roy Caldwell, an animal behaviourist at the University of California at Berkeley Families Not necessarily a complete list: Alainosquillidae Bathysquillidae Coronididae Erythrosquillidae Eurysquillidae Gonodactylidae Hemisquillidae Indosquillidae Lysiosquillidae Nannosquillidae Odontodactylidae Parasquillidae Protosquillidae Pseudosquillidae Squillidae Takuidae Tetrasquillidae The Mantis shrimps are the order Stomatopoda of crustaceans. ...

Pangolins have also been reported to roll away from danger by self-powered methods. Witnessed by a lion researcher [12] in the Serengeti in Africa, a group of lions surrounded a pangolin, but could not get purchase on it when it rolled into a ball, and so the lions sat around it waiting and dozing. Surrounded by lions, it would unroll itself slightly and give itself a push to roll some distance, until by doing this multiple times it could get far enough away from the lions to be safe. Moving like this would allow a pangolin to cover distance while still remaining in a protective armoured ball . Species Manis culionensis Manis gigantea Manis temmincki Manis tricuspis Manis tetradactyla Manis crassicaudata Manis pentadactyla Manis javanica Pangolins (pănggə-lĭn) or scaly anteaters are mammals in the Pholidota order. ... The Serengeti is a region of grasslands and woodlands in Mara Region in Tanzania. ...

References

• García-París, M. & Deban, S. M. 1995. A novel antipredator mechanism in salamanders: rolling escape in Hydromantes platycephalus. Journal of Herpetology 29, 149-151.

• Tenaza, R. R. 1975. Pangolins rolling away from predation risks. Journal of Mammalogy 56, 257.