Page 60 - One Million Things: Animal Life - The Incredible Visual Guide

MOVEMENT 1

One of the major things that makes animals stand out
from other living things, such as plants and fungi, is their
ability to move. While some stay rooted to one place and
move body parts, most move about actively in the air, on
land, or in water. Animals move in many different ways,
from swimming to sidewinding, and looping to leaping.

1 TIGER
Walking and running on four legs are movements
performed not only by tigers and other cats, 2
but also by many other mammals. Aside from
supporting the body’s weight, legs can be
moved in coordinated ways by muscles under
the control of the brain. The tiger’s long tail helps
it to balance when running or pouncing.

2 FLAT-TAILED GECKO
These agile lizards make adept climbers,
scaling vertical surfaces and even hanging
upside down as they search for insect prey.
They owe these skills to five wide toe pads
on each foot that are covered with millions
of tiny hairs. These create electrical forces that
glue the gecko to any surface, even glass.

3 LOOPER CATERPILLAR
Certain caterpillars travel with a looping
movement. The caterpillar anchors itself with 3
claspers at its rear end, and reaches forward with
its front end. When it has fixed its front end in
place using its legs, it pulls its back end forward
to form a loop. It then repeats the sequence to
continue moving forward.

4 SIDEWINDING SNAKE
Most snakes move by wriggling from side to
side to form S-shaped curves that push the body 4
forward. In the desert, snakes have to move over
hot sand. Some do this by sidewinding—
throwing their bodies in sideways leaps so that
they move diagonally and touch the hot ground
as little as possible—leaving a trail of markings
where they have landed.

5 COMMON FROG
At home both on land and in water, frogs use
different methods of movement for each
environment. Frogs can walk, but they also leap,
especially to escape enemies. Powerful hind legs
push the body off the ground and shorter forelegs
absorb the shock of landing. In water, the webbed
hind feet kick out to propel the frog forward.

58

(c) 2011 Dorling Kindersley, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

5/11/08 11:24:23
058_059_Movement.indd 58
US_058_059_Movement.indd 58 12/1/09 14:07:20