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Tingle JL, Jurestovsky DJ, Astley HC. The relative contributions of multiarticular snake muscles to movement in different planes. J Morphol 2023; 284:e21591. [PMID: 37183497 DOI: 10.1002/jmor.21591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2023] [Revised: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Muscles spanning multiple joints play important functional roles in a wide range of systems across tetrapods; however, their fundamental mechanics are poorly understood, particularly the consequences of anatomical position on mechanical advantage. Snakes provide an excellent study system for advancing this topic. They rely on the axial muscles for many activities, including striking, constriction, defensive displays, and locomotion. Moreover, those muscles span from one or a few vertebrae to over 30, and anatomy varies among muscles and among species. We characterized the anatomy of major epaxial muscles in a size series of corn snakes (Pantherophis guttatus) using diceCT scans, and then took several approaches to calculating contributions of each muscle to force and motion generated during body bending, starting from a highly simplistic model and moving to increasingly complex and realistic models. Only the most realistic model yielded equations that included the consequence of muscle span on torque-displacement trade-offs, as well as resolving ambiguities that arose from simpler models. We also tested whether muscle cross-sectional areas or lever arms (total magnitude or pitch/yaw/roll components) were related to snake mass, longitudinal body region (anterior, middle, posterior), and/or muscle group (semispinalis-spinalis, multifidus, longissimus dorsi, iliocostalis, and levator costae). Muscle cross-sectional areas generally scaled with positive allometry, and most lever arms did not depart significantly from geometric similarity (isometry). The levator costae had lower cross-sectional area than the four epaxial muscles, which did not differ significantly from each other in cross-sectional area. Lever arm total magnitudes and components differed among muscles. We found some evidence for regional variation, indicating that functional regionalization merits further investigation. Our results contribute to knowledge of snake muscles specifically and multiarticular muscle systems generally, providing a foundation for future comparisons across species and bioinspired multiarticular systems.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Derek J Jurestovsky
- Department of Biology, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA
- Department of Kinesiology, Biomechanics Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Henry C Astley
- Department of Biology, University of Akron, Akron, Ohio, USA
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Wang H, Lin F, Mo J, Xiao J, Li B, Li Y. The aero body righting of frog Rana rugulosus via hindleg swings. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY. PART A, ECOLOGICAL AND INTEGRATIVE PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 337:823-834. [PMID: 35816007 DOI: 10.1002/jez.2642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Revised: 06/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Frogs can keep an excellent aerial balance for landing and achieve consecutive jumps reliably. A safe landing requires an accurate body righting in the air. However, there is no systematic study on how the frogs adjust the aerial postures and body attitudes after jumping. The stretched long hindlegs swung quickly in the aerial phase, which revealed a clear relationship with the body attitudes. This study aimed to verify the function of frogs' hindlegs on aero body righting in the air. We captured the motions of both hindlegs and found the hindlegs adopted two movement modes, the bilateral parallel, and separated swings. The hindleg-induced torques by the two movements were negatively correlated with the body's angular accelerations on pitch and roll, respectively. Moreover, an analytical model was derived based on the conservation of angular momentum and verified by the dynamic simulations. Thus, we confirmed that the hindlegs are the dominant mechanism in aerial pitch and roll controls. We anticipate our achievements to inspire the design of air-righting tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Wang
- School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Feng Lin
- School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Jixue Mo
- School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Jingcheng Xiao
- School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Bing Li
- School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
| | - Yao Li
- School of Mechanical Engineering and Automation, Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen, Shenzhen, People's Republic of China
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Rose KAR, Tickle PG, Elsey RM, Sellers WI, Crossley DA, Codd JR. Scaling of axial muscle architecture in juvenile Alligator mississippiensis reveals an enhanced performance capacity of accessory breathing mechanisms. J Anat 2021; 239:1273-1286. [PMID: 34302302 PMCID: PMC8602021 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2020] [Revised: 07/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Quantitative functional anatomy of amniote thoracic and abdominal regions is crucial to understanding constraints on and adaptations for facilitating simultaneous breathing and locomotion. Crocodilians have diverse locomotor modes and variable breathing mechanics facilitated by basal and derived (accessory) muscles. However, the inherent flexibility of these systems is not well studied, and the functional specialisation of the crocodilian trunk is yet to be investigated. Increases in body size and trunk stiffness would be expected to cause a disproportionate increase in muscle force demands and therefore constrain the basal costal aspiration mechanism, necessitating changes in respiratory mechanics. Here, we describe the anatomy of the trunk muscles, their properties that determine muscle performance (mass, length and physiological cross‐sectional area [PCSA]) and investigate their scaling in juvenile Alligator mississippiensis spanning an order of magnitude in body mass (359 g–5.5 kg). Comparatively, the expiratory muscles (transversus abdominis, rectus abdominis, iliocostalis), which compress the trunk, have greater relative PCSA being specialised for greater force‐generating capacity, while the inspiratory muscles (diaphragmaticus, truncocaudalis ischiotruncus, ischiopubis), which create negative internal pressure, have greater relative fascicle lengths, being adapted for greater working range and contraction velocity. Fascicle lengths of the accessory diaphragmaticus scaled with positive allometry in the alligators examined, enhancing contractile capacity, in line with this muscle's ability to modulate both tidal volume and breathing frequency in response to energetic demand during terrestrial locomotion. The iliocostalis, an accessory expiratory muscle, also demonstrated positive allometry in fascicle lengths and mass. All accessory muscles of the infrapubic abdominal wall demonstrated positive allometry in PCSA, which would enhance their force‐generating capacity. Conversely, the basal tetrapod expiratory pump (transversus abdominis) scaled isometrically, which may indicate a decreased reliance on this muscle with ontogeny. Collectively, these findings would support existing anecdotal evidence that crocodilians shift their breathing mechanics as they increase in size. Furthermore, the functional specialisation of the diaphragmaticus and compliance of the body wall in the lumbar region against which it works may contribute to low‐cost breathing in crocodilians.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayleigh A R Rose
- Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Wales, UK
| | - Peter G Tickle
- School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
| | - Ruth M Elsey
- Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge, Grand Chenier, LA, USA
| | - William I Sellers
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Dane A Crossley
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA
| | - Jonathan R Codd
- Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
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Omura A, Ejima K, Honda K, Anzai W, Taguchi Y, Koyabu D, Endo H. Locomotion pattern and trunk musculoskeletal architecture among Urodela. ACTA ZOOL-STOCKHOLM 2015; 96:225-235. [PMID: 25914411 PMCID: PMC4402012 DOI: 10.1111/azo.12070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/09/2014] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We comparatively examined the trunk musculature and prezygapophyseal angle of mid-trunk vertebra in eight urodele species with different locomotive modes (aquatic Siren intermedia, Amphiuma tridactylum, Necturus maculosus and Andrias japonicus; semi-aquatic Cynops pyrrhogaster, Cynops ensicauda; and terrestrial Hynobius nigrescens, Hynobius lichenatus and Ambystoma tigrinum). We found that the more terrestrial species were characterized by larger dorsal and abdominal muscle weight ratios compared with those of the more aquatic species, whereas muscle ratios of the lateral hypaxial musculature were larger in the more aquatic species. The lateral hypaxial muscles were thicker in the more aquatic species, whereas the M. rectus abdominis was more differentiated in the more terrestrial species. Our results suggest that larger lateral hypaxial muscles function for lateral bending during underwater locomotion in aquatic species. Larger dorsalis and abdominal muscles facilitate resistance against sagittal extension of the trunk, stabilization and support of the ventral contour line against gravity in terrestrial species. The more aquatic species possessed a more horizontal prezygapophyseal angle for more flexible lateral locomotion. In contrast, the more terrestrial species have an increasingly vertical prezygapophyseal angle to provide stronger column support against gravity. Thus, we conclude trunk structure in urodeles differs clearly according to their locomotive modes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayano Omura
- Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences The University Museum The University of Tokyo 7‐3‐1 Hongo, Bunkyo‐ku Tokyo 113‐0033 Japan
- The University Museum The University of Tokyo 7‐3‐1 Hongo, Bunkyo‐ku Tokyo 113‐0033 Japan
| | - Ken‐Ichiro Ejima
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Nihon University School of Dentistry 1‐8‐13, Kanda‐Surugadai, Chiyoda‐ku Tokyo 101‐8310 Japan
| | - Kazuya Honda
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Nihon University School of Dentistry 1‐8‐13, Kanda‐Surugadai, Chiyoda‐ku Tokyo 101‐8310 Japan
- Division of Systemic Biology and Oncology Dental Research Center Nihon University School of Dentistry 1‐8‐13, Kanda‐Surugadai, Chiyoda‐ku Tokyo 101‐8310 Japan
| | - Wataru Anzai
- The University Museum The University of Tokyo 7‐3‐1 Hongo, Bunkyo‐ku Tokyo 113‐0033 Japan
- Graduate School of Biological Sciences The University Museum The University of Tokyo 7‐3‐1 Hongo, Bunkyo‐ku Tokyo 113‐0033 Japan
| | - Yuki Taguchi
- Hiroshima City Asa Zoological Park Asa‐tyou Doubutsuen Asakita‐ku Hiroshima City Hiroshima 731‐3355 Japan
| | - Daisuke Koyabu
- The University Museum The University of Tokyo 7‐3‐1 Hongo, Bunkyo‐ku Tokyo 113‐0033 Japan
| | - Hideki Endo
- The University Museum The University of Tokyo 7‐3‐1 Hongo, Bunkyo‐ku Tokyo 113‐0033 Japan
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Cabelguen JM, Charrier V, Mathou A. Modular functional organisation of the axial locomotor system in salamanders. ZOOLOGY 2013; 117:57-63. [PMID: 24290785 DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2013.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2013] [Revised: 10/10/2013] [Accepted: 10/14/2013] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Most investigations on tetrapod locomotion have been concerned with limb movements. However, there is compelling evidence that the axial musculoskeletal system contributes to important functions during locomotion. Adult salamanders offer a remarkable opportunity to examine these functions because these amphibians use axial undulations to propel themselves in both aquatic and terrestrial environments. In this article, we review the currently available biological data on axial functions during various locomotor modes in salamanders. We also present data showing the modular organisation of the neural networks that generate axial synergies during locomotion. The functional implication of this modular organisation is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Marie Cabelguen
- Neurocentre Magendie, INSERM U 862, Bordeaux University, 146 rue Léo Saignat, F-33077 Bordeaux Cedex, France.
| | - Vanessa Charrier
- Neurocentre Magendie, INSERM U 862, Bordeaux University, 146 rue Léo Saignat, F-33077 Bordeaux Cedex, France
| | - Alexia Mathou
- Neurocentre Magendie, INSERM U 862, Bordeaux University, 146 rue Léo Saignat, F-33077 Bordeaux Cedex, France
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Cabelguen JM, Ijspeert A, Lamarque S, Ryczko D. Axial dynamics during locomotion in vertebrates lesson from the salamander. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2011; 187:149-62. [PMID: 21111206 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-53613-6.00010-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/14/2023]
Abstract
Much of what we know about the flexibility of the locomotor networks in vertebrates is derived from studies examining the adaptation of limb movements during stepping in various conditions. However, the body movements play important roles during locomotion: they produce the thrust during undulatory locomotion and they help to increase the stride length during legged locomotion. In this chapter, we review our current knowledge about the flexibility in the neuronal circuits controlling the body musculature during locomotion. We focus especially on salamander because, as an amphibian, this animal is able to display a rich repertoire of aquatic and terrestrial locomotor modes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Marie Cabelguen
- Neurocentre Magendie, INSERM U 862, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux Cedex, France
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Essner RL, Suffian DJ, Bishop PJ, Reilly SM. Landing in basal frogs: evidence of saltational patterns in the evolution of anuran locomotion. Naturwissenschaften 2010; 97:935-9. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-010-0697-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2010] [Revised: 06/21/2010] [Accepted: 06/22/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Agalliu D, Takada S, Agalliu I, McMahon AP, Jessell TM. Motor neurons with axial muscle projections specified by Wnt4/5 signaling. Neuron 2009; 61:708-20. [PMID: 19285468 PMCID: PMC2741579 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2008.12.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2008] [Revised: 12/15/2008] [Accepted: 12/22/2008] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Axial muscles are innervated by motor neurons of the median motor column (MMC). In contrast to the segmentally restricted motor columns that innervate limb, body wall, and neuronal targets, MMC neurons are generated along the entire length of the spinal cord. We show that the specification of MMC fate involves a dorsoventral signaling program mediated by three Wnt proteins (Wnt4, Wnt5a, and Wnt5b) expressed in and around the floor plate. These Wnts appear to establish a ventralhigh to dorsallow signaling gradient and promote MMC identity and connectivity by maintaining expression of the LIM homeodomain proteins Lhx3/4 in spinal motor neurons. Elevation of Wnt4/5 activity generates additional MMC neurons at the expense of other motor neuron columnar subtypes, whereas depletion of Wnt4/5 activity inhibits the production of MMC neurons. Thus, two dorsoventral signaling pathways, mediated by Shh and Wnt4/5, are required to establish an early binary divergence in motor neuron columnar identity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dritan Agalliu
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Departments of Neuroscience and Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
- Department of Genetics and Development, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Shinji Takada
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
- Okazaki Institute for Integrative Biosciences, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Okazaki 444-8787, Japan
| | - Ilir Agalliu
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA
| | - Andrew P. McMahon
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Thomas M. Jessell
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Kavli Institute for Brain Science, Departments of Neuroscience and Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
- Corresponding author
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Nauwelaerts S, Ramsay J, Aerts P. Morphological correlates of aquatic and terrestrial locomotion in a semi-aquatic frog, Rana esculenta: no evidence for a design conflict. J Anat 2007; 210:304-17. [PMID: 17331179 PMCID: PMC2100283 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7580.2007.00691.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Semi-aquatic frogs are faced with an unusual locomotory challenge. They have to swim and jump using the same apparatus, i.e. the hind limbs. Optimization of two tasks that require mutually incompatible morphologies or physiologies cannot occur simultaneously. In such cases, natural selection will result in some compromise, i.e. an intermediate phenotype that can perform both tasks reasonably well, but its performance will never match that of a specialized phenotype. We found no direct evidence for a trade-off between jumping and swimming performance nor for a coupled optimization. This could be due to the importance of overall quality, as suggested by the fact that some frogs possess greater overall muscularity than others, irrespective of their body size. Another explanation could be that some morphological characteristics have a positive effect on both locomotor modes and others show a trade-off effect. The net effect of these characteristics could result in an overall absence of correlation between the two locomotor performances. Size has a great influence on the morphological data and on jumping performance, but not if performance is expressed as velocity. The body shape of an anuran is conservative and scales mostly isometrically.
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Gemballa S, Ebmeyer L. Myoseptal architecture of sarcopterygian fishes and salamanders with special reference to Ambystoma mexicanum. ZOOLOGY 2003; 106:29-41. [PMID: 16351889 DOI: 10.1078/0944-2006-00087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2002] [Revised: 11/04/2002] [Accepted: 11/15/2002] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
During axial undulatory swimming in fishes and salamanders muscular forces are transmitted to the vertebral axis and to the tail. One of the major components of force transmission is the myoseptal system. The structure of this system is well known in actinopterygian fishes, but has never been addressed in sarcopterygian fishes or salamanders. In this study we describe the spatial arrangement and collagen fiber architecture of myosepta in Latimeria, two dipnoans, and three salamanders in order to gain insight into function and evolution of the myoseptal system in these groups. Salamander myosepta lack prominent cones, and consist of homogenously distributed collagen fibers of various orientations that never form distinct tendons. Fiber orientations are difficult to homologize with those of fish myosepta. The myosepta of Latimeria and dipnoans (Protopterus and Neoceratodus) illustrate that major changes in architecture occurred in the sarcopterygian clade (loss of horizontal septum), in the rhipidistian (dipnoans + tetrapods) clade (loss of epineural and epipleural tendon), and in tetrapods (loss of lateral tendons and myoseptal folding). When compared to fishes, the myosepta of wholly aquatic salamanders (Ambystoma mexicanum, Amphiuma tridactylum, Necturus maculosus) do not have the lateral tendons we suppose serve to transfer muscular forces posteriorly. We propose that alternative structures (most conspicuously present in Ambystoma) perform this function: posteriorly the relative amount of connective tissue increases considerably, and myosepta are disintegrated to horizontal lamellae of connective tissue. The structures thought to be involved in modulation of body stiffness in fishes during swimming are also absent in salamanders. Our data also have implications for the hypothesis that salamander hypaxial myosepta are designed to increase shortening amplification of the hypaxial muscle fibers. The posterior hypaxial myosepta of all three salamander species possess only mediolaterally directed collagen fibers, which would indeed amplify the shortening of the associated muscle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sven Gemballa
- Evolution, Bio-Geosphere Dynamics Program (EBID), Systematic Zoology, University of Tübingen, Germany.
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Shapiro LJ, Demes B, Cooper J. Lateral bending of the lumbar spine during quadrupedalism in strepsirhines. J Hum Evol 2001; 40:231-59. [PMID: 11180987 DOI: 10.1006/jhev.2000.0454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Much research has been devoted to spinal kinematics of nonmammalian vertebrates, while comparatively little is known about the locomotor role of spinal movements in mammals, especially primates. This study, conducted at the Duke University Primate Center, examines the function of lateral spinal bending during quadrupedal walking among a diverse sample of strepsirhines. The taxa studied include Loris tardigradus (1), Nycticebus coucang (1), N. pygmaeus (1), Cheirogaleus medius (2), Varecia variegata (2), Eulemur fulvus (2), and a total sample size of 261 strides. Lateral bending varies among the taxa with respect to both magnitude and effects of velocity, and does not appear to be correlated with body size. In addition, the timing of lateral bending during a stride appears to differ from that reported for other (nonmammalian) tetrapods. On average, maximum lateral flexion occurs just after ipsilateral foot touchdown, which may be functionally associated with touchdown of the contralateral forelimb during diagonal sequence gait. For some of the taxa, lateral flexion coincides more closely with foot touchdown as velocity increases, suggesting a functional role in increasing hindlimb stride length. Both of these timing patterns contrast with those reported for lizards. Finally, although lorids as a group have been described as having a "sinuous" gait, this study shows more pronounced lateral flexion in Nycticebus than in Loris.
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Affiliation(s)
- L J Shapiro
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, U.S.A.
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