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Bipedalism is a form of terrestrial locomotion where an animal moves by means of its two rear (or lower) limbs or legs. An animal or machine that usually moves in a bipedal manner is known as a biped / ˈ b aɪ p ɛ d / , meaning 'two feet' (from Latin bis 'double' and pes 'foot').
Centipedes have one pair of legs per body segment, with typically around 50 legs, but some species have over 200. The terrestrial animals with the most legs are the millipedes. They have two pairs of legs per body segment, with common species having between 80 and 400 legs overall – with the rare species Illacme plenipes having up to 750 legs.
Additionally, standing on two legs may allow them to reach more food, as chimpanzees do. [2] Other specific advantages, such as being able to wade in water or throw stones, may also have contributed to the evolution of facultative bipedalism. [27] In other primates, various arboreal adaptations may have affected the evolution of bipedalism as well.
Four classes of arthropods each provide multiple examples, including sea spiders (with 4 to 6 leg pairs, [11] providing two examples) and pauropods (adults with 8 to 11 leg pairs, [12] providing four examples), but most of the examples listed are either millipedes (adults with 11 to 653 leg pairs) [5] [1] or centipedes (adults with 15 to 191 ...
The smallest amphibian (and vertebrate) in the world is a frog from New Guinea (Paedophryne amauensis) with a length of just 7.7 mm (0.30 in). The largest living amphibian is the 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) South China giant salamander ( Andrias sligoi ), but this is dwarfed by prehistoric temnospondyls such as Mastodonsaurus which could reach up to 6 m ...
The world’s frogs, salamanders, newts and other amphibians remain in serious trouble. A new global assessment has found that 41% of amphibian species that scientists have studied are threatened ...
The most conspicuous leg modifications are involved in reproduction, discussed below. Despite the common name, no millipede was known to have 1,000 legs until 2021: common species have between 34 and 400 legs, and the record is held by Eumillipes persephone, with individuals possessing up to 1,306 legs – more than any other creature on Earth.
These animals have evolved to only need one pair of limbs, whether arms or legs. Any other limbs have not only become vestigial but have disappeared altogether ...