A new galloping gait in an insect
Författare
Summary, in English
An estimated three million insect species all walk using variations
of the alternating tripod gait. At any one time, these animals hold one stable triangle of legs steady while swinging the opposite triangle forward. Here, we report the discovery that three different
flightless desert dung beetles use an additional gallop-like gait, which has never been described in any insect before. Like a bounding hare, the beetles propel their body forward by synchronously stepping with both middle legs and then both front legs. Surprisingly, this peculiar galloping gait delivers lower speeds than the alternating tripod gait. Why these beetles have shifted so radically away from the most widely used walking style on our planet is as yet unknown.
of the alternating tripod gait. At any one time, these animals hold one stable triangle of legs steady while swinging the opposite triangle forward. Here, we report the discovery that three different
flightless desert dung beetles use an additional gallop-like gait, which has never been described in any insect before. Like a bounding hare, the beetles propel their body forward by synchronously stepping with both middle legs and then both front legs. Surprisingly, this peculiar galloping gait delivers lower speeds than the alternating tripod gait. Why these beetles have shifted so radically away from the most widely used walking style on our planet is as yet unknown.
Avdelning/ar
Publiceringsår
2013
Språk
Engelska
Sidor
913-915
Publikation/Tidskrift/Serie
Current Biology
Volym
23
Issue
20
Fulltext
- Available as PDF - 683 kB
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Länkar
Dokumenttyp
Artikel i tidskrift
Förlag
Elsevier
Ämne
- Zoology
Nyckelord
- desert
- insect gaits
- locomotion
- dung beetles
Status
Published
Forskningsgrupp
- Lund Vision Group
ISBN/ISSN/Övrigt
- ISSN: 1879-0445