Lateral undulation of the flexible spine of sprawling posture vertebrates

2018 ◽  
Vol 204 (8) ◽  
pp. 707-719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Wang ◽  
Aihong Ji ◽  
Poramate Manoonpong ◽  
Huan Shen ◽  
Jie Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Undulation ◽  
Sprawling Posture

scholarly journals Turtling the salamander: tail movements mitigate need for kinematic limb changes during walking in tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum) with restricted lateral movement

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine M Vega ◽  
Miriam A Ashley-Ross
Keyword(s):  
Stride Length ◽  
The Body ◽  
Ambystoma Tigrinum ◽  
Lateral Movement ◽  
Tiger Salamanders ◽  
Body Regions ◽  
Lateral Undulation ◽  
Limb Kinematics ◽  
Sprawling Posture ◽  
Trunk Flexibility

Abstract Lateral undulation and trunk flexibility offer performance benefits to maneuverability, stability, and stride length (via speed and distance traveled). These benefits make them key characteristics of the locomotion of tetrapods with sprawling posture, with the exception of turtles. Despite their bony carapace preventing lateral undulations, turtles are able to improve their locomotor performance by increasing stride length via greater limb protraction. The goal of this study was to quantify the effect of reduced lateral flexibility in a generalized sprawling tetrapod, the tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum). We had two potential predictions: (1) either salamanders completely compensate by changing their limb kinematics, or (2) their performance (i.e., speed) will suffer due to the reduced lateral flexibility. This reduction was performed by artificially limiting trunk flexibility by attaching a 2-piece shell around the body between the pectoral and pelvic girdles. Adult tiger salamanders (n = 3, SVL = 9 cm-14.5 cm) walked on a 1 m trackway under three different conditions: unrestricted, flexible shell (Tygon tubing), and rigid shell (PVC tubing). Trials were filmed in a single, dorsal view, and kinematics of entire midline and specific body regions (head, trunk, tail), as well as the fore and hindlimbs, were calculated. Tygon individuals had significantly higher curvature than both PVC and unrestricted individuals for the body, but this trend was primarily driven by changes in tail movements. PVC individuals had significantly lower curvature in the trunk region compared to unrestricted individuals or Tygon; however, there was no difference between unrestricted and Tygon individuals suggesting the shells performed as expected. PVC and Tygon individuals had significantly higher curvature in the tails compared to unrestricted individuals. There were no significant differences for any limb kinematic variables among treatments including average, minimum, maximum angles. Thus, salamanders respond to decreased lateral movement in their trunk by increasing movements in their tail, without changes in limb kinematics. These results suggest that tail undulations may be a more critical component to sprawling-postured tetrapod locomotion than previously recognized.

scholarly journals Slithering CSF: Cerebrospinal Fluid Dynamics in the Stationary and Moving Viper Boa, Candoia aspera

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 672
Author(s):  
Bruce A. Young ◽  
Skye Greer ◽  
Michael Cramberg
Keyword(s):  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Cardiac Cycle ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Mean Amplitude ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Waves ◽  
Lower Amplitude ◽  
Lateral Undulation ◽  
Recovery From Anesthesia ◽  
The Relationship

In the viper boa (Candoia aspera), the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shows two stable overlapping patterns of pulsations: low-frequency (0.08 Hz) pulses with a mean amplitude of 4.1 mmHg that correspond to the ventilatory cycle, and higher-frequency (0.66 Hz) pulses with a mean amplitude of 1.2 mmHg that correspond to the cardiac cycle. Manual oscillations of anesthetized C. aspera induced propagating sinusoidal body waves. These waves resulted in a different pattern of CSF pulsations with frequencies corresponding to the displacement frequency of the body and with amplitudes greater than those of the cardiac or ventilatory cycles. After recovery from anesthesia, the snakes moved independently using lateral undulation and concertina locomotion. The episodes of lateral undulation produced similar influences on the CSF pressure as were observed during the manual oscillations, though the induced CSF pulsations were of lower amplitude during lateral undulation. No impact on the CSF was found while C. aspera was performing concertina locomotion. The relationship between the propagation of the body and the CSF pulsations suggests that the body movements produce an impulse on the spinal CSF.

Sprawling locomotion in the lizard Sceloporus clarkii: quantitative kinematics of a walking trot

1997 ◽  
Vol 200 (4) ◽  
pp. 753-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Reilly ◽  
M Delancey
Keyword(s):  
Knee Flexion ◽  
Morphological Difference ◽  
Swing Phase ◽  
Single Individual ◽  
Propulsive Force ◽  
Terminal Portion ◽  
Pelvic Rotation ◽  
Fast Walking ◽  
Qualitative Work ◽  
Sprawling Posture

Although the hindlimb is widely considered to provide the propulsive force in lizard locomotion, no study to date has investigated the kinematic patterns of the lizard hindlimb during running for more than one stride for a single individual. The quantitative kinematics of the hindlimb, pelvis and backbone are described here for two individuals of the lizard Sceloporus clarkii using a fast walking trot on a treadmill moving at a constant speed of 0.833 m s-1. Pelvic rotation, femoral retraction, knee flexion and posterior movement of the foot all begin before the foot hits the substratum and, thus, there is a terminal portion of the swing phase during which the limb is retracting. Pelvic rotation (to the opposite side), femoral protraction and knee flexion all begin before the foot leaves the substratum. The foot, however, continues to move posteriorly into the early swing phase. Thus, limb retraction and protraction movements do not directly correlate with footfall phases. Axial bending involves a rough standing wave with two nodes, one centered on each limb girdle. In Sceloporus clarkii, the foot clearly remains lateral to the knee and, thus, has a more sprawling posture than that of any other vertebrate studied to date. Therefore, the generalization that the 'lacertilian' foot passes under the knee joint is no longer supported. The kinematics of sprawling locomotion in Sceloporus clarkii are compared and contrasted with the general understanding of lizard locomotion based on qualitative work to date. Comparisons with other tetrapods reveal a fundamental functional dichotomy in hindlimb retraction mechanics in salamanders and mammals versus lizards that may be related to a key morphological difference in the saurian caudifemoralis muscle.

Magnetic Soft Robot With the Triangular Head–Tail Morphology Inspired By Lateral Undulation

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 2688-2699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laliphat Manamanchaiyaporn ◽  
Tiantian Xu ◽  
Xinyu Wu
Keyword(s):  
Soft Robot ◽  
Lateral Undulation

Kinematics of gecko climbing: the lateral undulation pattern

Zoology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 140 ◽  
pp. 125768 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Wang ◽  
Aihong Ji ◽  
Guangming Chen ◽  
Sridhar Ravi ◽  
Huan Shen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lateral Undulation

scholarly journals Red muscle function in stiff-bodied swimmers: there and almost back again

2011 ◽  
Vol 366 (1570) ◽  
pp. 1507-1515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas A. Syme ◽  
Robert E. Shadwick
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Muscle Function ◽  
Tail Region ◽  
Red Muscle ◽  
Lateral Undulation ◽  
Thresher Shark ◽  
Swimming Mode ◽  
The Common ◽  
Undulatory Swimming

Fishes with internalized and endothermic red muscles (i.e. tunas and lamnid sharks) are known for a stiff-bodied form of undulatory swimming, based on unique muscle–tendon architecture that limits lateral undulation to the tail region even though the red muscle is shifted anteriorly. A strong convergence between lamnid sharks and tunas in these features suggests that thunniform swimming might be evolutionarily tied to this specialization of red muscle, but recent observations on the common thresher shark ( Alopias vulpinus ) do not support this view. Here, we review the fundamental features of the locomotor systems in lamnids and tunas, and present data on in vivo muscle function and swimming mechanics in thresher sharks. These results suggest that the presence of endothermic and internalized red muscles alone in a fish does not predict or constrain the swimming mode to be thunniform and, indeed, that the benefits of this type of muscle may vary greatly as a consequence of body size.

scholarly journals Locomotion in alligator mississippiensis: kinematic effects of speed and posture and their relevance to the sprawling-to-erect paradigm

1998 ◽  
Vol 201 (18) ◽  
pp. 2559-2574 ◽  
Author(s):  
SM Reilly ◽  
JA Elias
Keyword(s):  
Knee Kinematics ◽  
The Body ◽  
Alligator Mississippiensis ◽  
Vertebrate Evolution ◽  
Evolutionary Transition ◽  
Erect Posture ◽  
Kinematic Data ◽  
Intermediate Model ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Sprawling Posture

In terms of locomotory posture, amphibians and lizards are considered to be sprawlers, mammals and dinosaurs are considered to be erect, and extant crocodilians are considered to be intermediate because they use the 'high walk', a semi-erect posture where the body is held half-way between the sprawling and erect grades during locomotion. In addition, crocodilians occasionally use a sprawling posture. Extant crocodilians, therefore, provide an interesting model in which to investigate the sprawling-to-erect transition in vertebrate evolution. This study quantifies the sprawl and high walk kinematics of the alligator Alligator mississippiensis moving at different speeds on a treadmill and compares them with kinematic data available for other vertebrates. These data allow us to examine the effects of speed on crocodilian postures and to examine how crocodilian locomotion relates to the sprawling-to-erect paradigm in vertebrate locomotion. Our results show that the crocodilian sprawl is not functionally equivalent to the primitive sprawling behaviors exhibited by salamanders and lizards. In fact, although the high walks and sprawls of alligators exhibit some kinematic differences, they are actually much more similar than expected and, essentially, the crocodilian sprawl is a lower version of a high walk and could be termed a 'low walk'. In terms of the sprawling-to-erect transition, the high walk has knee kinematics intermediate between those of birds and non-archosaurian tetrapods, but alligators increase speed in a way completely different from other terrestrial vertebrates (distal rather than proximal limb elements are used to increase speed). These kinematic data viewed in the light of the fossil and phylogenetic evidence that modern crocodilians evolved from erect ancestors suggest that modern crocodilians have secondarily evolved a variable semi-erect posture and that they are problematic as an intermediate model for the evolutionary transition from sprawling to erect postures in archosaurs.

A Novel Concept of Biomorphic Hyper-Redundant Snake Robot

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-49
Author(s):  
Yash Dinesh Shethwala ◽  
Ravi Pravinbhai Patel ◽  
Darshankumar Rajendrakumar Shah ◽  
Saurin M. Sheth
Keyword(s):  
Human Detection ◽  
Loss Of Life ◽  
Snake Robot ◽  
Pcb Design ◽  
Lateral Undulation ◽  
Novel Concept ◽  
Excellent Property ◽  
Natural Calamity ◽  
Great Damage ◽  
Robot Body

Disaster is a sudden accident or a natural calamity that causes great damage or loss of life and property. In any disastrous conditions, a lot of manpower is wasted and still unable to save some lives. A biomorphic hyper-redundant snake-like robot may help in such situations. Its excellent property of getting into small spaces and ability to traverse along any surface can be very helpful in search and rescue operations. These robots can help to locate humans in a disaster and provide precise information about its condition to rescuers. It can also be used in other domains like military, underwater, aerospace, and nuclear. In this research, the mechanical modelling and simulation of snake robot body have been carried out. Different speeds have been achieved on various surfaces where the snake robot has to traverse. An algorithm is proposed for human detection based on a YOLO algorithm. PCB design for the power supply is carried out and two types of gait motion (lateral undulation and side winding) have been achieved by the snake robot.

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