Hopping is a very energy-efficient way to move, for kangaroos. But no other medium-large mammal hops. Why?
A key to hoppies:
Big hoppies = Macropus, Osphranter
Small bouncy hoppies = Bettongs & Potoroos
Various wobbly hoppies = Notamacropus, Onychogalea, Wallabia, Lagorchestes
Tree hoppies = Dendrolagus
Rock hoppies = Petrogale
Small rainforest hoppies = Thylogale
Very photogenic hoppy = Quokka
Banded Hare Hoppy = Lagostrophus
Musky Rat-hoppy = Hypsiprymnodon
The bone names are –
Thigh = Femur
Shin = Tibia & fibula
Foot = Tarsals & metatarsals
Toes = Phalanges
References:
Hildebrand (1988) Analysis of Vertebrate Structure, 3rd Edn.
Christine M. Janis, Adrian M. O’Driscoll & Benjamin P. Kear (2023) Myth of the QANTAS leap: perspectives on the evolution of kangaroo locomotion, Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, 47:4, 671-685, DOI: 10.1080/03115518.2023.2195895
https://doi.org/10.1080/03115518.2023.2195895
Thornton LH et al. (2021) Understanding Australia’s unique hopping species: a comparative review of the musculoskeletal system and locomotor biomechanics in Macropodoidea. Australian Journal of Zoology, 69(4), 136–157. doi:10.1071/ZO21048
And thanks to Gordon Sanson for the chat & the Thornton reference – all errors of fact are mine 🙂
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