Zoological Institute and Museum, University of Greifswald, Loitzer Str. 26, 17489, Greifswald, Germany.
Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia.
J Comp Physiol A Neuroethol Sens Neural Behav Physiol. 2021 Mar;207(2):99-103. doi: 10.1007/s00359-021-01478-2. Epub 2021 Mar 18.
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 is to display the state of the interdisciplinary research on arachnid locomotion, linking physiology and biomechanics with ecology, ethology and evolutionary biology. It comprises five reviews and ten original research reports covering diverse topics, ranging from the neurophysiology of arachnid movement, the allometry and sexual dimorphism of running kinematics, the effect of autotomy or heavy body parts on locomotor efficiency, and the evolution of silk-spinning choreography, to the biophysics of ballooning and ballistic webs. This closes a significant gap in the literature on animal biomechanics.
动物的一个基本特征是能够移动和扩散。蛛形纲动物是最早的陆生动物谱系之一，其特征是具有液压肢体伸展的八足运动器官。它们的运动方式包括奔跑、攀爬、跳跃，但也包括游泳、潜水、悬垂、滚动、滑翔，甚至被动飞行。研究蛛形纲动物独特的运动功能和运动生态学对于综合理解这个多样化和普遍存在的动物群体的生态学和进化至关重要。除了生物学，蛛形纲动物的运动还为机器人工程师提供了灵感。本期特刊的目的是展示蛛形纲动物运动的跨学科研究现状，将生理学和生物力学与生态学、行为学和进化生物学联系起来。它包括五篇综述和十篇原创研究报告，涵盖了从蛛形纲动物运动的神经生理学、奔跑运动学的异速生长和性别二态性、自切或重物对运动效率的影响、以及丝纺舞蹈的进化，到气球和弹道网的生物物理学等多个主题。这填补了动物生物力学文献中的一个重要空白。
