A new galloping gait in an insect
(2013) In Current Biology 23(20). p.913-915- Abstract
- 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... (More) - 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. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/4113816
- author
- Smolka, Jochen LU ; Byrne, Marcus J. ; Scholtz, Clarke H. and Dacke, Marie LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2013
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- desert, insect gaits, locomotion, dung beetles
- in
- Current Biology
- volume
- 23
- issue
- 20
- pages
- 913 - 915
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000326317300005
- pmid:24156806
- scopus:84886262941
- ISSN
- 1879-0445
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.cub.2013.09.031
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 773db564-011c-46fe-b50d-e535da846357 (old id 4113816)
- alternative location
- http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(13)01178-0
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 10:20:18
- date last changed
- 2024-05-05 10:52:33
@article{773db564-011c-46fe-b50d-e535da846357,
abstract = {{An estimated three million insect species all walk using variations<br/><br>
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<br/><br>
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.}},
author = {{Smolka, Jochen and Byrne, Marcus J. and Scholtz, Clarke H. and Dacke, Marie}},
issn = {{1879-0445}},
keywords = {{desert; insect gaits; locomotion; dung beetles}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{20}},
pages = {{913--915}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Current Biology}},
title = {{A new galloping gait in an insect}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/1757538/4113916.pdf}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.cub.2013.09.031}},
volume = {{23}},
year = {{2013}},
}