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Rarest types of locomotion
Topic Started: Jun 22 2017, 09:57 AM (1,180 Views)
PortentosaMan
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What is the rarest and weirdest types of locomotion?
Edited by PortentosaMan, Jun 22 2017, 09:57 AM.
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Yiqi15
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I'd say using spherically rolling as a primary function would be the rarest.
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TAXESbutNano
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Rolling is pretty infrequent- there's pebble toads and carwheel spiders that do it, but I can't think of any others.

Also, buttflinging. Springtails do that. Or jawflinging like trapjaw ants.
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Holben
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I think the flic-flac spider and the rock-climbing goby (which climbs up the sides of waterfalls using its mouth) are both pretty cool and unusual.

My favourite, which is a very recent observation and I'm not aware of any research into it at all, is caterpillar group locomotion, though. It might be more efficient for them to move in a heap like this, as caterpillars cycle from top to bottom and the whole group moves a bit like a wheel. Very much unconfirmed though.
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PortentosaMan
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Holben
Jun 22 2017, 10:07 AM
I think the flic-flac spider and the rock-climbing goby (which climbs up the sides of waterfalls using its mouth) are both pretty cool and unusual.

My favourite, which is a very recent observation and I'm not aware of any research into it at all, is caterpillar group locomotion, though. It might be more efficient for them to move in a heap like this, as caterpillars cycle from top to bottom and the whole group moves a bit like a wheel. Very much unconfirmed though.
Some fungus gnat larvae use the same locomotion as the caterpillars. But I am not aware of any other insects that is similar.
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LittleLazyLass
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Obligatory mention that bipedal locomotion itself is pretty weird and uncommon, only being found in a small handful of mostly hopping mammals, various groups of dinosaurs, and... nope, that's prettymuch it, off the top of my head, am I forgetting something? The upright human walking stance in particular is completely unheard of, although surprisingly efficient.

edit: As DK corrects, it only evolved once in dinosaurs, but evolved multiple times in within Pseudosuchia.
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PortentosaMan
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Jun 22 2017, 10:28 AM
Obligatory mention that bipedal locomotion itself is pretty weird and uncommon, only being found in a small handful of mostly hopping mammals, various groups of dinosaurs, and... nope, that's prettymuch it, off the top of my head, am I forgetting something? The upright human walking stance in particular is completely unheard of, although surprisingly efficient.
Birds have bipedal locomotion, and they are common, so I disagree with it being uncommon.
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LittleLazyLass
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That's one group that evolved it one time, though, and it falls under "various groups of dinosaurs".
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Dragonthunders
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Birds have bipedal locomotion, and they are common, so I disagree with it being uncommon.

I disagree with your disagree, taking in count that this just evolved once, and there has been no other clade that has evolved in a similar way, if there was more avian bipedal-like forms among mammals or other diapsids apart of dinosaurs then it would be common, it doesnt cout if there are 10000 species, all came from a single ancestral clade.

I think other could be the way that scallop swim to escape from potential predators or dangers.


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PortentosaMan
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I understand what you mean now.
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ÐK
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Jun 22 2017, 10:28 AM
only being found in a small handful of mostly hopping mammals, various groups of dinosaurs, and... nope, that's prettymuch it, off the top of my head, am I forgetting something?
It evolved in pseudosuchians at least three times (ornithosuchids, derived poposauroids and rauisuchids), compared to ornithodirans where it only evolved once.
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LittleLazyLass
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Not sure how I missed that, thanks.
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Nembrotha
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Not super rare, but jet-propulsion is definitely an overlooked type of locomotion. Cephalopods are probably the best known users, but things like jellyfish, dragonfly nymphs (thank you, Grade 7 teacher, for telling me about this), scallops, salps, siphonophores and even some fish also use jet propulsion.

Looks like Dragonthunders kind of beat me to the punch with scallops.
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opeFool
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Don't mind me... just gonna snatch some of these as inspiration (also, how about baby spiders using web to move around the air?)
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PortentosaMan
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CryperVilla
Jun 22 2017, 02:41 PM
Don't mind me... just gonna snatch some of these as inspiration (also, how about baby spiders using web to move around the air?)
That was the whole point of this tread, to give more diversity when it comes to locomotion in your projects!
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