Arboreal gaits in three sympatric rodents Apodemus agrarius, Apodemus flavicollis (Rodentia, Muridae) and Myodes glareolus (Rodentia, Cricetidae)

Karantanis, Nikolaos-Evangelos; Rychlik, Leszek; Herrel, Anthony; Youlatos, Dionisios

doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2016.12.004

Cited by 37 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Overall, arboreal locomotion of Thallomys paedulcus was confined to the 5‐mm, 10‐mm, 25‐mm substrates. Unlike other similarly sized rodents, acacia rats were not able to utilize the 2‐mm substrates (Karantanis et al ., ). Their symmetrical gaits were characterized by lateral‐sequence diagonal couplets (LSDC) gaits, of relatively high duty factor (DF), and balanced fore‐ and hindlimbs DFs, as indicated by the duty factor index (DFI).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Overall, arboreal locomotion of Thallomys paedulcus was confined to the 5-mm, 10-mm, 25-mm substrates. Unlike other similarly sized rodents, acacia rats were not able to utilize the 2-mm substrates (Karantanis et al, 2017). Their symmetrical gaits were characterized by lateral-sequence diagonal couplets Higher hindlimb duty factor Walking Running Figure 4 Boxplots of the distribution of gaits' diagonality, duty factor and duty factor index in the substrate size categories examined, split into two graphs, one for each direction of movement.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Diameter and direction of movement accounted for the classification of the different substrate categories. Following previous experimental study on a series of small‐bodied mammals, we considered four classes of diameters (2 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 25 mm) (Karantanis et al ., , , ). These classes simulate a range of branches, from the finest terminal twigs to boughs, which impose differential locomotor constraints in the natural habitat of the studied species.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, in arboreal locomotion, LSDC gaits may be preferable in terms of static stability, as they allow an animal to keep its centre of mass within the support polygons, throughout the gait cycle, provided that three or four limbs are anchored on the substrate, hence at high DF (Lammers & Zurcher, 2011a). Although LS gaits are more common among terrestrial mammals, LSDC are also habitually used by a number of arboreal taxa, including callitrichid primates (Stevens, 2006(Stevens, , 2008Nyakatura et al, 2007;Nyakatura, Fischer & Schmidt, 2008;Nyakatura & Heymann, 2010), sugar gliders Petaurus breviceps (Shapiro & Young, 2010), as well as scansorial and arboreal rodents (Schmidt & Fischer, 2010, 2011Karantanis et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Arboreality in acacia rats (Thallomys paedulcus; Rodentia, Muridae): gaits and gait metrics

Karantanis

Rychlik

Herrel³

et al. 2017

Journal of Zoology

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The acacia rat Thallomys paedulcus is a small arboreal rodent, extensively dependent on Acacia sp. trees. In order to understand the arboreal locomotor adaptations of the species, we examined their gaits in arboreal locomotion (i.e. diagonality, duty factor, duty factor index, velocity, and stride length and frequency). For these purposes, we filmed 12 captive specimens on simulated arboreal substrates of variable sizes (2 mm, 5 mm, 10 mm, 25 mm) and inclinations (0° and 45°). Acacia rats employed slow, symmetrical gaits with lower diagonality on the smaller substrates, which were progressively substituted by faster, asymmetrical half‐bounding gaits on larger substrates. In general, inclination had no impact on gait metrics, except that ascents were slower than horizontal locomotion. Velocity increase was regulated primarily due to an increase in stride frequency, a pattern encountered in many small mammals, although stride length contributed significantly as well. These locomotor adaptations serve as a behavioural mechanism to cope with the challenges of the arboreal milieu. They appear to provide stability and enable safe negotiation of arboreal substrates, ultimately leading to the successful exploitation of Acacia trees in their natural habitat.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Arboreality in acacia rats (Thallomys paedulcus; Rodentia, Muridae): gaits and gait metrics

Karantanis

Rychlik

Herrel³

et al. 2017

Journal of Zoology

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“…Other investigators report similar upshifted horse‐line patterns—DS at low duty factors (high speeds), LS at high duty factors (lower speeds)—for symmetrical walking gaits in a wide variety of arboreal mammals: Petaurus breviceps (Shapiro & Young, , ), the didelphids Didelphis virginiana (White, ), and Caluromys philander (Cartmill, Lemelin, & Schmitt, ; Lemelin et al, ), the basal australidelphian marsupial Dromiciops australis (Pridmore, ), the tamarin Saguinus oedipus (Nyakatura, Fischer, & Schmidt, ), the sloths Bradypus variegatus , Choloepus didactylus , and C . hoffmani (Mendel, ; Nyakatura et al, 2010), the kinkajou Potos flavus (Lemelin & Cartmill, ), the acacia rat Thallomys paedulcus (Karantanis, Rychlik, Herrel, & Youlatos, ), and the climbing mice Apodemus agrarius and Myodes glareolus (Karantanis, Rychlik, Herrel, & Youlatos, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The gaits of marsupials and the evolution of diagonal‐sequence walking in primates

Cartmill

Brown

Atkinson

et al. 2019

American J Phys Anthropol

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Objectives: Documenting the variety of quadrupedal walking gaits in a variety of marsupials (arboreal vs. terrestrial, with and without grasping hind feet), to aid in developing and refining a general theory of gait evolution in primates. Materials and Methods: Video records of koalas, ringtail possums, tree kangaroos, sugar gliders, squirrel gliders, wombats, numbats, quolls, a thylacine, and an opossum walking on a variety of substrates were made and analyzed to derive duty factors and diagonalities for symmetrical walking gaits. The resulting distributions of data points were compared with published data and theories.

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Developments in development: What have we learned from primate locomotor ontogeny?

Young

Shapiro

2018

American J Phys Anthropol

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The importance of locomotion to evolutionary fitness has led to extensive study of primate locomotor behavior, morphology and ecology. Most previous research has focused on adult primates, but in the last few decades, increased attention to locomotor development has provided new insights toward our broader understanding of primate adaptation and evolution. Here, we review the contributions of this body of work from three basic perspectives. First, we assess possible determinants on the timing of locomotor independence, an important life history event. Significant influences on timing of locomotor independence include adult female body mass, age at weaning, and especially relative brain size, a significant predictor of other primate life history variables. Additionally, we found significant phylogenetic differences in the timing of locomotor independence, even accounting for these influences. Second, we discuss how structural aspects of primate growth may enhance the locomotor performance and safety of young primates, despite their inherent neuromotor and musculoskeletal limitations. For example, compared to adults, growing primates have greater muscle mechanical advantage, greater bone robusticity, and larger extremities with relatively long digits. Third, focusing on primate quadrupedalism, we provide examples that illustrate how ontogenetic transitions in morphology and locomotion can serve as a model system for testing broader principles underlying primate locomotor biomechanics. This approach has led to a better understanding of the key features that contribute to primates' stride characteristics, gait patterns, limb force distribution, and limb postures. We have learned a great deal from the study of locomotor ontogeny, but there is much left to explore. We conclude by offering guidelines for future research, both in the laboratory and the field. K E Y W O R D Sallometry, gait mechanics, life history, locomotor independence, ontogeny | I N TR ODU C TI ONPrimates display an impressively broad range of locomotor behaviors, including several highly charismatic and unique behaviors not seen in other mammals, such as strepsirrhine vertical clinging and leaping, hylobatid brachiation, and hominin striding bipedalism (Fleagle, 2013;Hunt et al., 1996;Schmitt, 2010). Even primate quadrupedal locomotion, a comparatively ubiquitous locomotor mode, is characterized by several unique features relative to most other mammalian quadrupeds (Kimura, 1992;Kimura, Okada, & Ishida, 1979;Larson, 1998;Schmitt, 2010;Shapiro & Young, 2016). As such, the biomechanics, ecological context, and morphological underpinnings of primate locomotor behaviors have long been of interest in anthropology and associated fields (Dagosto & & Gebo, 1998;Le Gros Clark, 1959;Muybridge, 1887;Napier, 1967;Prost, 1965;Ripley, 1967;Wood Jones, 1916).The vast majority of previous research on primate locomotion, whether in the field or the lab, has concentrated on adult animals. To some degree, this focus on adults is understandable. The morphologic...

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Arboreal gaits in three sympatric rodents Apodemus agrarius, Apodemus flavicollis (Rodentia, Muridae) and Myodes glareolus (Rodentia, Cricetidae)

Cited by 37 publications

References 62 publications

Arboreality in acacia rats (Thallomys paedulcus; Rodentia, Muridae): gaits and gait metrics

Arboreality in acacia rats (Thallomys paedulcus; Rodentia, Muridae): gaits and gait metrics

The gaits of marsupials and the evolution of diagonal‐sequence walking in primates

Developments in development: What have we learned from primate locomotor ontogeny?

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