Salamander locomotion as a standing wave

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the unique locomotion patterns of salamanders, specifically their use of standing-wave patterns as opposed to the traveling waves seen in other animals like dogfish and snakes. Key references include Collins and Stewart's papers from 1992 and 1993, which explore symmetry-breaking bifurcation and coupled nonlinear oscillators in animal gaits. The author highlights a drawing created for an online textbook that illustrates this phenomenon, emphasizing its relevance for biology students. The unusual standing-wave locomotion of salamanders is contrasted with the more common traveling-wave patterns observed in other species.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of animal locomotion mechanics
  • Familiarity with nonlinear dynamics and oscillators
  • Knowledge of biological wave patterns in various species
  • Access to academic papers on the subject, specifically Collins and Stewart's works
NEXT STEPS
  • Research "Collins and Stewart symmetry-breaking bifurcation" for deeper insights
  • Explore "nonlinear oscillators in animal locomotion" for advanced understanding
  • Investigate "standing wave patterns in biology" to compare with traveling waves
  • Examine the role of wave mechanics in "snake locomotion" for broader context
USEFUL FOR

Biology students, researchers in biomechanics, and educators looking to enhance their understanding of animal locomotion patterns, particularly those interested in the unique mechanics of salamanders and other wave-based locomotion systems.

bcrowell
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I recently came across a couple of very cool papers about animal locomotion:

Collins and Stewart, "Symmetry-breaking bifurcation: A possible mechanism for 2:1 frequency-locking in animal locomotion," J. Math. Biol. (1992) 30:827-838

Collins and Stewart, "Coupled Nonlinear Oscillators and the Symmetries of Animal Gaits," J. Nonlinear Sci. Vol. 3: pp. 349-392 (1993)

PDFs can be found by googling. On p. 34 of the second one is a nifty example that I thought would be of interest to students in the kind of survey course that biology majors have to take. As a salamander crawls, its body wiggles in a standing-wave pattern. A dogfish makes a traveling wave. I thought the salamander example was cool enough that I created a drawing for my online textbook http://www.lightandmatter.com/lm/ (section 20.4).
 
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Now if you look at millipedes walk, their legs seem to make waves.
 
A.T. said:
Snake locomotion is also interesting in terms of waves:
http://www.pnas.org/content/106/25/10081.full

I just about died laughing when I read the procedure for the friction measurement.

As far as I know, most such examples (earthworms, dogfish, snakes) are traveling waves, not standing waves, and the standing-wave pattern of the salamander is unusual.