Running in ostriches (<i>Struthio camelus</i>): three-dimensional joint axes alignment and joint kinematics

Rubenson, Jonas; Lloyd, David G.; Besier, Thor F.; Heliams, Denham B.; Fournier, Paul A.

doi:10.1242/jeb.02792

Cited by 105 publications

(189 citation statements)

References 44 publications

(73 reference statements)

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“…This importance of knee movement for the displacement of the body as a peculiarity of avian bipedalism has been recognized previously by other authors (Cracraft, 1971;Jacobson and Hollyday, 1982;Manion, 1984;Gatesy, 1990;Gatesy, 1999a;Gatesy, 1999b;Reilly, 2000;Verstappen et al, 2000;Rubenson et al, 2007;Hutchinson and Allen, 2009). However, the excursion of knee flexion and proper motion of the tibiotarsus does not increase beyond Fr0.08.…”

Section: Conserved Pattern Of Intralimb Coordination In Fore-aft Motisupporting

confidence: 72%

“…Furthermore, in ostriches, only marginal differences occur by means of a slight variation in swing duration (Rubenson et al, 2004;Rubenson et al, 2007). Also, despite birds showing no head-bobbing during treadmill locomotion (Necker, 2007), the absence of this behavior likely will not influence kinematics because it does not demonstrably influence the position of the body's CoM (Fujita, 2002;Hancock, 2010).…”

Section: Methodsology and Comparison Of Angular Valuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Currently, knowledge of intralimb coordination of avian terrestrial locomotion is restricted to guinea fowl (Gatesy, 1999a;Gatesy, 1999b), chicken (Jacobson and Hollyday, 1982;Manion, 1984;Muir et al, 1996), quail (Reilly, 2000;Abourachid et al, 2011), pigeon (Cracraft, 1971), magpie (Verstappen et al, 2000) and several Struthioniformes (e.g. Abourachid and Renous, 2000;Jindrich et al, 2007;Rubenson et al, 2007;Smith et al, 2010). Although Gatesy (Gatesy, 1999a) demonstrated the necessity of applying X-ray technology for an accurate and reproducible analysis of the kinematics of avian terrestrial locomotion, very few studies have since used this method in analyses of avian bipedalism (Abourachid et al, 2011;Provini et al, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Comparative intralimb coordination in avian bipedal locomotion

Stoessel

Fischer

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYAnalyses of how intralimb coordination during locomotion varies within and across different taxa are necessary for understanding the morphological and neurological basis for locomotion in general. Previous findings suggest that intralimb proportions are the major source of kinematic variation that governs intralimb coordination across taxa. Also, independence of kinematics from habitat preference and phylogenetic position has been suggested for mammals. This leads to the hypothesis that among equally sized bird species exhibiting equal limb proportions, similar kinematics can be observed. To test this hypothesis, the bipedal locomotion of two distantly related ground-dwelling bird species (Eudromia elegans and Coturnix coturnix) and of a less terrestrial species (Corvus monedula) was investigated by means of a biplanar high-speed X-ray videographic analysis. Birds exhibited similar intralimb proportions and were filmed over a broad range of speed while moving on a treadmill. Joint and limb element angles, as well as pelvic rotations, were quantified. Regarding fore-aft motions of the limb joints and elements, a congruent pattern of intralimb coordination was observed among all experimental species. The sample of species suggests that this is largely independent of their habitat preference and systematic position and seems to be related to demands for coping with an irregular terrain with a minimum of necessary control. Hence, the initial hypothesis was confirmed. However, this congruence is not found when looking at medio-lateral limb motions and pelvic rotations, showing distinct differences between grounddwellers (e.g. largely restricted to a parasagittal plane) and C. monedula (e.g. increased mobility of the hip joint). Supplementary material available online at

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“…This enables ostriches to achieve high step frequency energy efficiently (Schaller et al, 2011;Haughton, 1865). The permanently elevated metatarsophalangeal joint further increases the leg length thereby leading to higher stride length (Rubenson et al, 2007;Schaller et al, 2011).…”

Section: Two Toes As An Integrated Wholementioning

confidence: 99%

Phalangeal joints kinematics during Ostrich (Struthio Camelus) locomotion

Zhang

Luo

et al. 2016

Preprint

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The ostrich is a highly cursorial bipedal land animal with a permanently elevated metatarsophalangeal joint supported by only two toes. Although locomotor kinematics in walking and running ostriches have been examined, these studies have been largely limited to above the metatarsophalangeal joint. In this study, kinematic data of all major toe joints were collected from walking to running during stance period in a semi-natural setup with selected cooperative ostriches. Statistical analyses were conducted to investigate the effect of locomotor gait on toe joint kinematics. The MTP3 and MTP4 joints exhibit the largest range of motion whereas the first phalangeal joint of the 4th toe shows the largest motion variability. The interphalangeal joints of the 3rd and 4th toes present very similar motion patterns over stance phases of walking and running. However, the motion patterns of the MTP3 and MTP4 joints and the vertical displacement of the metatarsophalangeal joint are significantly different during running from walking. This is probably because of the biomechanical requirements for the inverted pendulum gait at low speeds and also the bouncing gait at high speeds. Interestingly, the motions of the MTP3 and MTP4 joints are highly synchronised from slow to fast locomotion. This strongly suggests that the 3rd and 4th toes really work as an integrated system with the 3rd toe as the main load bearing element whilst the 4th toe as the complementary load sharing element with a primary role to ensure the lateral stability of the permanently elevated metatarsophalangeal joint.

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“…These descriptions can be used to further study the biomechanical Ostriches (Struthio camelus) are well known for their exceptional bipedal running 10 abilities (e.g., Alexander et al 1979). Their muscular, three-dimensionally mobile legs 11 (Rubenson et al, 2007) are attractive subjects for studies of mechanical forces in the knee 12 because they are able to accommodate large dynamic loads (Rubenson et al, 2010;such as undergoing genetic assimilation (Sarin et al, 1999), or indicating key changes in 63 locomotor function that correspond to altered loads on sesamoids (Hutchinson, 2002)? 64…”

Section: Three-dimensional Anatomy Of the Knee Joint Of Ostriches (Stmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three-dimensional anatomy of the knee joint of ostriches (Struthio camelus)

Chadwick

Regnault

Allen

et al. 2014

Preprint

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The three-dimensional anatomy of the ostrich (Struthio camelus) knee (femorotibial, femorofibular, and femoropatellar) joint has scarcely been studied, and could elucidate certain mechanobiological properties of sesamoid bones. The adult ostrich is unique in that it has double patellae, while another similar ratite bird, the emu, has none. Understanding why these patellae form and what purpose they may serve is dually important for future studies on ratites as well as understanding mechanobiological characteristics of sesamoid bone development. For this purpose, we present a three-dimensional anatomical study of the ostrich knee joint, detailing osteology, ligaments and menisci, and myology. We have identified seven muscles which connect to the two patellae and compare our findings to past descriptions. These descriptions can be used to further study the biomechanical loading and implications of the double patella in the ostrich.

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Running in ostriches (Struthio camelus): three-dimensional joint axes alignment and joint kinematics

Cited by 105 publications

References 44 publications

Comparative intralimb coordination in avian bipedal locomotion

Phalangeal joints kinematics during Ostrich (Struthio Camelus) locomotion

Three-dimensional anatomy of the knee joint of ostriches (Struthio camelus)

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