Limb joints kinematics and their relation to increasing speed in the guinea pig Cavia porcellus (Mammalia: Rodentia)

Abstract

The kinematics of each joint of the guinea pig Cavia porcellus were studied during the locomotor cycle at increasing speed by high-speed cinefluorography. The main objective was to reveal the functional specific features of these structural elements in each dynamic phase of the cycle and also which limb joints are important during the increase of animal speed. Most of the analysed angles in C. porcellus were affected as the speed increased, both in trot and gallop. However, only a few of them were correlated with speed. There were also differences with respect to symmetrical or asymmetrical gaits. Both pairs of limbs responded differently to the increase of speed; while the forelimb joints modified the duration of their action (frequency) more than the amplitude (stride length), the hindlimbs acted inversely. The movements of the joints during the stance phase changed dramatically with speed, particularly in the hindlimb. At knee level, the flexion amplitude increases to maintain the stiffness of the leg spring, a principle previously discussed as essential for the running process. In the swing phase, inertial effects are the main constraints and, as in the stance phase, the knee joint in the swing phase is correlated with speed both during trot and gallop, confirming the major importance of this joint to increasing speed.

Limb kinematics during locomotion in the two-toed sloth (Choloepus didactylus, Xenarthra) and its implications for the evolution of the sloth locomotor apparatus

“…Scapulae and forearms of two-toed sloths move in matched motion across the observed speed range. Kinematic values such as scapular touch-down and lift-off angles and excursions are highly similar to those reported for pronograde locomotion (Jenkins and Weijs, 1979;Fischer et al, 2002;Rocha-Barbosa et al, 2005), and are especially close to terrestrial mammals of similar size. Mean amplitude of scapular retraction is 34 • in two-toed sloths, 35 • in dogs, 41 • in goats and cats, and 28 • in vervet monkeys (Boczek-Funcke et al, 1996;Whitehead and Larson, 1994;Fischer and Blickhan, 2006).…”

“…We attribute the nevertheless high importance of the scapula for the generation of step length to the negative influence of hands on step length (see below), which in turn increases the importance of the remaining elements. Similarly, the kinematics of arm, elbow and forearm are strikingly similar to those of pronograde small mammals (Jenkins and Weijs, 1979;Fischer et al, 2002;Rocha-Barbosa et al, 2005), rhesus monkeys (Courtine et al, 2005), small arboreal primates (Schmidt, 2008), and dogs (Goslow et al, 1981). Two-toed sloth forelimb proportions resemble those of primates, especially those of advanced climbers such as lorises and colobines (Schmidt, 2008).…”

Morphology and motion: hindlimb proportions and swing phase kinematics in terrestrially locomoting charadriiform birds

“…Across absolute and dimensionless speed, the largely invariant swing phase durations of the three charadriiforms agree with previous studies which have found this trait to be nearly constant with increasing speed during terrestrial locomotion of birds (Gatesy, 1999a;Reilly, 2000;Verstappen et al, 2000;Abourachid, 2001;van Coppenolle and Aerts, 2004;Rubenson et al, 2004;White et al, 2008;Nudds et al, 2010;Nyakatura et al, 2012;Stoessel and Fischer, 2012). The cost of swinging the limbs has been directly measured as being 26% of the total metabolic energy expended in running guinea fowl (Marsh et al, 2004); the invariant swing duration with increasing speed suggests that birds are limited in being able to more rapidly swing their limbs and thus rotational inertia of swinging limbs may be an important limiting factor in terrestrial locomotion (see also Rocha-Barbosa et al, 2005;Kilbourne, 2013;Hoffman, 2013, 2015).…”

Sagittal spine movements of small therian mammals during asymmetrical gaits

“…Speed independency of limb kinematics has been shown for a tenfold range of speed in more than 300 strides for the pika (Fischer and Lehmann, 1998). In addition, speed independency of kinematic parameters was reported for the kowari and the gray short-tailed opossum (Kühnapfel, 1996), for the tree shrew (Schilling and Fischer, 1999), and for the guinea pig, a close relative of the cui (Rocha-Barbosa et al, 1996;Rocha-Barbosa et al, 2005). In particular, the detailed study on speed sensitivity of limb kinematics in the guinea pig showed that, although most joint angles were affected as speed increased, only a few angles were correlated to speed.…”