Bennett M B, Taylor G C
Department of Anatomical Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia.
Nature. 1995 Nov 2;378(6552):56-9. doi: 10.1038/378056a0.
Large kangaroos are unique among mammals in their ability to uncouple aerobic metabolic energy costs from the speed of locomotion, making hopping an economical gait. During the first half of the ground-contact phase, kinetic energy lost from the body is stored as elastic strain energy, predominantly in the hind limbs. The subsequent recoil returns kinetic and potential energy to the body. Here we show that the allometry of structures in the legs and feet of Macropodoidea is different from that of quadrupedal eutherian mammals. The potential for elastic energy storage in hoppers is shown to scale with strong positive allometry. This is a function of the structural properties of muscle-tendon units in the distal hind limbs and the postures adopted by hopping kangaroos. Our findings demonstrate how the use of tissue elasticity is strongly mass dependent and help explain the observed energetic phenomena.
大型袋鼠在哺乳动物中独一无二，它们能够使有氧代谢能量消耗与运动速度脱钩，从而使跳跃成为一种经济的步态。在地面接触阶段的前半段，身体损失的动能以弹性应变能的形式储存起来，主要储存在后肢。随后的反冲将动能和势能返还给身体。我们在此表明，大袋鼠科动物腿部和足部结构的异速生长不同于四足真兽类哺乳动物。跳跃动物储存弹性能量的潜力显示出与强烈的正异速生长相关。这是后肢远端肌肉-肌腱单元的结构特性以及跳跃袋鼠所采取姿势的作用。我们的研究结果表明了组织弹性的利用如何强烈地依赖于质量，并有助于解释所观察到的能量现象。
