zwierzęta: Flying and gliding animals

Evidence: 100 • authority: 72

A number of animals are capable of aerial locomotion, either by active flight, passive gliding or, in rare occasions, ballooning, also known as kiting. Such animals typically have appendages that interact with air to generate lift in order to overcome the weight of their own body and any payload they are carrying (e.g. food, prey or nesting materials). The majority of flying and glide animals are terrestrial, although species from one extant taxon, the flying fish, are aquatic. The ability to fly or glide has appeared via convergent evolution many times throughout the history of life. Wing-powered flight has evolved prominently in at least four terrestrial clades: pterygote insects, pterosa…

Evidence: 56 • authority: 92

Aerial and ground locomotion of winged drones powered by a single actuator.. Multimodal drones combining aerial and terrestrial mobility offer adaptability and extended operational range across diverse environments. However, most existing multimodal drones rely on multiple actuators that add mass and complexity while offering limited terrestrial locomotion capabilities. Here, we introduce a multimodal winged drone driven by only a single actuator, capable of ground locomotion, flight, and ground-to-air transition by either rolling or jumping. The actuator is based on a novel transmission system that enables control of its rotational direction to switch between different locomotion modes. In…

Evidence: 49 • authority: 92

Locomotion and kinematics of arachnids.. A basic feature of animals is the capability to move and disperse. Arachnids are one of the oldest lineages of terrestrial animals and characterized by an octopodal locomotor apparatus with hydraulic limb extension. Their locomotion repertoire includes running, climbing, jumping, but also swimming, diving, abseiling, rolling, gliding and -passively- even flying. Studying the unique locomotor functions and movement ecology of arachnids is important for an integrative understanding of the ecology and evolution of this diverse and ubiquitous animal group. Beyond biology, arachnid locomotion is inspiring robotic engineers. The aim of this special issue i…

Evidence: 49 • authority: 72

In ethology, animal locomotion is any of a variety of methods that animals use to move from one place to another. Some modes of locomotion are (initially) self-propelled, e.g., running, swimming, jumping, flying, hopping, soaring and gliding. Many animal species depend on their environment for transportation, a type of mobility called passive locomotion, e.g., sailing (some jellyfish), kiting (spiders), rolling (some beetles and spiders) or riding other animals (phoresis). Animals move for a variety of reasons, such as to find food, a mate, a suitable microhabitat, or to escape predators. For many animals, the ability to move is essential for survival and, as a result, natural selection has…

Evidence: 49 • authority: 72

Various marine animals are capable of aerial locomotion, i.e., jumping out of the water and moving through air. Some possible reasons for this behavior are hunting, escaping from predators, and saving energy for swimming or breathing. Some of the jumping behaviors initiate gliding and taxiing in air, while some of them end up falling back to water.

Evidence: 43 • authority: 88

Aerodynamics from Cursorial Running to Aerial Gliding for Avian Flight Evolution. Among the different models that have been proposed to explain the origin of avian flightfrom terrestrial predators, the cursorial and arboreal hypotheses remain the most discussed.However, the fossil data at hand show that, taken separately, both theories have significantlimitations in explaining the origin of flight in bird lineage. Here, we describe an aerodynamicsprinciple that fills in the gaps between those apparently contradictory models. The upslope wind inmountain areas and strong wind in plains provided the meteorological conditions allowingfeathered paravians to glide. The results suggest that smalle…

Evidence: 43 • authority: 92

Comparative gliding performance of Anolis lizards among three Caribbean ecomorphs.. Anole lizards (genus Anolis) have repeatedly and independently occupied arboreal niches, and in parallel have evolved associated morphologies and locomotor behaviors. In arboreal vertebrates more generally, parachuting and gliding have frequently evolved in response to selective pressure for targeting and controlled landings during either falls or intentional jumps. Here we describe morphological features and aerial performance among five anole species representing the trunk-ground, trunk-crown, and crown giant ecomorphs. Aerial behavior within a vertical wind tunnel was used to evaluate gliding performance,…

Evidence: 37 • authority: 80

Intermittent Gliding Flight Control Design and Verification of a Morphing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Evidence: 37 • authority: 80

Energetically Optimal Flight Trajectories for Short Range Gliding Animals

Evidence: 37 • authority: 92

Flagellated ectosymbiotic bacteria propel a eucaryotic cell.. A devescovinid flagellate from termites exhibits rapid gliding movements only when in close contact with other cells or with a substrate. Locomotion is powered not by the cell's own flagella nor by its remarkable rotary axostyle, but by the flagella of thousands of rod bacteria which live on its surface. That the ectosymbiotic bacteria actually propel the protozoan was shown by the following: (a) the bacteria, which lie in specialized pockets of the host membrane, bear typical procaryotic flagella on their exposed surface; (b) gliding continues when the devescovinid's own flagella and rotary axostyle are inactivated; (c) agents w…

Evidence: 37 • authority: 92

Leaping out of the water: Aerial-aquatic locomotion with flapping wings.. Wing-propelled diving birds flap their wings to move through air and water, yet the wing morphology and kinematics that enable this behavior remain poorly understood because of the difficulty of collecting in situ data. The impact of flapping frequency, wing size, and stiffness on locomotion in-and transition between-the two media are still unknown. We compared data from diving birds against experiments using a flapping-wing robot capable of flying, swimming, plunge diving, and exiting the water. We show that frequency adaptation, flexible wings, and powerful actuation enable seamless transitions without folding wings…