A novel, bounding gait in swimming turtles: Implications for aquatic locomotor diversity

Christopher J. Mayerl, Richard W. Blob

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Turtles are an iconic lineage in studies of animal locomotion, typifying the use of slow, alternating footfalls during walking. Alternating movements of contralateral limbs are also typical during swimming gaits for most freshwater turtles. Here, we report a novel gait in turtles, in which the pleurodire Emydura subglobosa swims using a bounding gait that coordinates bilateral protraction of both forelimbs with bilateral retraction of both hindlimbs. Use of this bounding gait is correlated with increased limb excursion and decreased stride frequency, but not increased velocity when compared with standard swimming strokes. Bounding by E. subglobosa provides a second example of a non-mammalian lineage that can use bounding gaits, and may give insight into the evolution of aquatic flapping. Parallels in limb muscle fascicle properties between bounding turtles and crocodylids suggest a possible musculoskeletal mechanism underlying the use of bounding gaits in particular lineages.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3611-3615
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Experimental Biology
Volume220
Issue number20
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 15 2017
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Biomechanics
  • Fascicle length
  • Limb muscle
  • Locomotion
  • Reptile

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Physiology
  • Aquatic Science
  • Animal Science and Zoology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Insect Science

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