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Most bipedal animals move with their backs close to horizontal, using a long tail to balance the weight of their bodies. The primate version of bipedalism is unusual because the back is close to upright (completely upright in humans), and the tail may be absent entirely. Many primates can stand upright on their hind legs without any support.
A facultative biped is an animal that is capable of walking or running on two legs , as a response to exceptional circumstances (facultative), while normally walking or running on four limbs or more. [1] In contrast, obligate bipedalism is where walking or running on two legs is the primary method of locomotion.
In the English language, many animals have different names depending on whether they are male, female, young, domesticated, or in groups. The best-known source of many English words used for collective groupings of animals is The Book of Saint Albans , an essay on hunting published in 1486 and attributed to Juliana Berners . [ 1 ]
A digitigrade animal is one that stands or walks with its toes (phalanges) on the ground, and the rest of its foot lifted. Digitigrades include birds (what many see as bird's knees are actually ankles), cats, dogs, and many other mammals, but not plantigrades (such as humans) or unguligrades (such as horses). Digitigrades generally move more ...
There are several synonyms that refer to human positioning, often used interchangeably, but having specific nuances of meaning. [1] Position is a general term for a configuration of the human body. Posture means an intentionally or habitually assumed position. Pose implies an artistic, aesthetic, athletic, or spiritual intention of the position.
The following is a list of tautonyms: zoological names of species consisting of two identical words (the generic name and the specific name have the same spelling). Such names are allowed in zoology, but not in botany, where the two parts of the name of a species must differ (though differences as small as one letter are permitted, as in cumin, Cuminum cyminum).
Makara (Hindu mythology) – half terrestrial animal in the frontal part (stag, deer, or elephant) and half aquatic animal in the hind part (usually of a fish, a seal, or a snake, though sometimes a peacock or even a floral tail is depicted) Sea goat – Half goat, half fish; Selkie – Shapeshifting seal people
Quadrupedalism is a form of locomotion where animals have four legs that are used to bear weight and move around. An animal or machine that usually maintains a four-legged posture and moves using all four legs is said to be a quadruped (from Latin quattuor for "four", and pes , pedis for "foot").