Swimming, walking, flying and burrowing involve specialised skeletons and muscles.
Swimming (fins, undulation, jet propulsion), walking, running, hopping, crawling and flying. Costs: swimming is cheapest per distance, running most expensive. Muscles work in antagonistic pairs against skeletons.
Locomotion needs force against a medium. Efficiency varies with size. Energy cost is measured as cost of transport.
Remember: swimming, flying and running each have physical constraints.
Swimming, walking, flying and burrowing involve specialised skeletons and muscles.
Animal Locomotion is one of the 53 topics in Zoology & Animal Diversity. It is rated Intermediate, so it suits learners who already know the core vocabulary. Related topics in this area include Biomechanics of Locomotion, Hibernation and Torpor, Animal Skeletons.
Cheetahs reach about 100 km per hour in short sprints.
Work through the Beginner topics in Zoology & Animal Diversity first, such as Animal Kingdom, Vertebrates and Invertebrates, Sponges, then return to Animal Locomotion. Intermediate topics assume the Beginner vocabulary.
The closest topics to Animal Locomotion are Biomechanics of Locomotion, Hibernation and Torpor, Animal Skeletons, Germ Layers. Comparing them side by side is a good way to see how the ideas connect.
Read the summary and the in-depth section, then use the quick check on the interactive lesson for Animal Locomotion. To practise the whole of Zoology & Animal Diversity, use the Zoology & Animal Diversity quiz.
Animal Locomotion: Swimming, walking, flying and burrowing involve specialised skeletons and muscles. Biomechanics of Locomotion: Applies physics to explain gait, muscle efficiency and fluid dynamics of swimming and flying. Read both side by side and note what each one explains.
First, read the summary and write the definition in your own words. Second, read the in-depth section and note any example. Third, compare it with Biomechanics of Locomotion and explain the difference aloud. Finally, take the Zoology & Animal Diversity quiz and come back to this page for any question you miss.
Applies physics to explain gait, muscle efficiency and fluid dynamics of swimming and flying.
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