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“The team was surprised to note that the water bears did not have distinct gaits for each speed, like horses as they transition from a walk to a gallop. Rather,
by tiahura 5y ago
“The team was surprised to note that the water bears did not have distinct gaits for each speed, like horses as they transition from a walk to a gallop. Rather, their locomotion closely resembled that of insects and arthropods, scurrying along faster and faster with no change to the basic step pattern.”
So they expected them to walk like horses and not insects? That seems odd.
- steve_adams_86 5y agoI don’t know if it was an expectation so much as an observation which was then put into comparison to help explain it.
- clairity 5y agowhat's more odd is that "...locomotion closely resembled that of insects and arthropods, scurrying along faster and faster with no change to the basic step pattern" is completely wrong. many insects and arthropods change gaits/step patterns with speed. it's practically required, as you get beyond optimal energetics pretty quickly (like being stuck in the wrong gear too long on a bike). cockroaches, for instance, only use their back 4 legs when 'running', and will use only their back 2 legs when all out 'sprinting'. we humans start jogging and then running as speed increases for the same reason, it's not energetically efficient to just 'walk faster'.
- jakear 5y agoProbably not as easy to secure additional funding/headlines when the tagline is “tardigrades move in the simplest conceivable manner, much like other simple creatures”.
- ru552 5y agoI think they were just trying to express that animals generally change their gait as they increase speed. These specific animals do not, which is akin to insects.