Special Cases Of Animal Motion Flashcards
(17 cards)
What are key locomotor features of echidna movement
Side to side trunk roll
Wide swinging legs
Rotated front feet
Lateral pacing
Reptilian style body shortening
Why does the echidna roll its body side to side during locomotion
To shift its CoM over its feet for stability due to its lateral pacing gait
How does a horses buoyancy compare to a giraffes
Horses float in a way that allows easier head positioning for breathing; giraffes struggle to do so
What makes flying fish capable of gliding flight
Modified fins act as wings, high aspect ratio and low wing loading create high lift to drag ratio for gliding
How do flying squid achieve flight
Jet propulsion launched them from water, followed by gliding with extended tentacles and fins
What evolutionary insight do walking fish offer
Alternating limb like movement may have a deep neurological origin
What is the C-start response in fish
A rapid escape movement using axial muscles to form a spring like C shape
What unusual walking behaviour do octopuses exhibit
They can walk along the sea floor and even across exposed surfaces.
They use their free tentacles for bipedal locomotion whilst carrying objects like coconut shells
What principle allows octopus tentacles to function as legs
Their tentacles are muscular hydrostatic, using incompressible fluid and muscle contractions for support and movement
What’s a muscular hydrostat
A structure with constant volume where muscles act on an incompressible fluid, allowing flexible motion without bones
What’s a terrestrial example of a muscular hydrostat used for manipulation
The elephant trunk, has radial muscles enabling complex multidirectional bending
What do papillae on the bags tongue do
Rise during extension, acting like a bristle brush to trap nectar via surface tension
How can animals avoid sinking into soft ground
By increasing foot surface area to reduce pressure
Eg ducks, coots, moorhens
What’s the trade off in webbed vs lobed feet on soft substrates
Webbed- hard to withdraw from mud
Lobed/ increase area but allow easy retraction
What is heteropody in locomotion studies
The condition where forelimbs and hindlimb tracks differ in size and shape
How do birds stabilise their heads during motion
Through rapid precise neck movements that lock the heads position despite body motion.
Maintains a steady gaze, helps with depth perception
Why is head stabilisation considered a type of motion
It involves complex coordinated muscular responses that maintain apparent stillness in the head
