GAIT ANALYSIS IN GIANT ANTEATER (MYRMECOPHAGA TRIDACTYLA) WITH THE USE OF A PRESSURE-SENSITIVE WALKWAY

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the kinetic and temporospatial parameters of clinically healthy juvenile giant anteaters (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) by using a pressure-sensing walkway. Three free-ranging clinically healthy giant anteaters (M. tridactyla), two males and one female, aged 5-7 mo, were used. There was no statistically significant difference between the right and left sides for the kinetic and temporospatial parameters for both forelimbs and hind limbs. Although the gait velocity was similar for all giant anteaters, the stride frequency was higher in the smaller anteaters. The difference in stride frequency is associated with body size, which also influenced other temporospatial parameters. The percentage of body distribution was higher on the forelimbs than the hind limbs. The contact surface and trajectory of the force of the forepaws differed from the hind paws. In conclusion, the anteaters have gait peculiarities associated with the anatomical differences between forelimbs and hind limbs.

Analysis of the spatio‐temporal parameters of gaits in Dasypus novemcinctus (Xenarthra: Dasypodidae)

“…For many quadruped mammals, the basic kinematic patterns for movements performed by both fore‐ and hindlimbs have been determined (e.g., Fischer, Schilling, Schmidt, Haarhaus, & Witte, ; Gasc, ; Goslow, Seeherman, Taylor, McCutchin, & Heglund, ; Hildebrand, ; Hutchinson et al., ; Rocha‐Barbosa, Renous, & Gasc, ; Schmidt, ; Schmitt, ). Few studies relying on anteater locomotion have been produced (e.g., De Faria et al., ; Orr, ), and just recently some studies on the myology of sloths (e.g., Nyakatura & Fischer, , ; Nyakatura, Petrovitch, & Fischer, ) have been produced to serve as a basis to interpret the peculiar locomotion of sloths (e.g., Nyakatura et al., ). However, armadillos present a peculiar design that could lead to different responses of the locomotor apparatus and thus provide variation over the general standard quadrupedal movements already reported.…”