Tripod stance: Difference between revisions
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'''Tripoding''' is a behaviour in which [[Quadrupedalism|quadraped]] animals rear up on their hind legs and use their tail to support this position. Several animals use this behaviour to improve observation or surveillance, during feeding, grooming, or thermoregulation, and sometimes during fighting. |
'''Tripoding''' is a behaviour in which [[Quadrupedalism|quadraped]] animals rear up on their hind legs and use their tail to support this position. Several animals use this behaviour to improve observation or surveillance, during feeding, grooming, or thermoregulation, and sometimes during fighting. |
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[[Monitor lizard]]s such as the [[Komodo dragon]] quite commonly stand on a tripod formed by their hind legs and tail.<ref>{{cite book |last=Auffenberg |first=Walter |year=1981 |title=The Behavioral Ecology of the Komodo Monitor |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=MirXwMe94JgC&pg=PA134 |page=134 |publisher=University Press of Florida |isbn=081300621X }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Frauca |first=Harry |year=1982 |title=What animal is that?: a guide to Australian amphibians, insects, mammals, reptiles, and spiders |page=154 |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=0868240745}}</ref> The [[common dwarf mongoose]] also adopts a tripod stance when checking for predators.<ref>{{cite book |last=Apps |first=Peter |year=2000 |title=Creatures of Habit: Understanding African Animal Behaviour |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=39dl4pXv1kYC&pg=PA117 |page=117 |publisher=Struik |isbn=1770073922}}</ref> |
[[Monitor lizard]]s such as the [[Komodo dragon]] quite commonly stand on a tripod formed by their hind legs and tail.<ref>{{cite book |last=Auffenberg |first=Walter |year=1981 |title=The Behavioral Ecology of the Komodo Monitor |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=MirXwMe94JgC&pg=PA134 |page=134 |publisher=University Press of Florida |isbn=081300621X }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Frauca |first=Harry |year=1982 |title=What animal is that?: a guide to Australian amphibians, insects, mammals, reptiles, and spiders |page=154 |publisher=Doubleday |isbn=0868240745}}</ref> The [[common dwarf mongoose]] also adopts a tripod stance when checking for predators.<ref>{{cite book |last=Apps |first=Peter |year=2000 |title=Creatures of Habit: Understanding African Animal Behaviour |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=39dl4pXv1kYC&pg=PA117 |page=117 |publisher=Struik |isbn=1770073922}}</ref> Some dinosaurs may also have occasionally adopted a tripod stance.<ref>{{cite book |last=Martin |first=Anthony J. |year=2009 |edition=2nd |title=Introduction to the Study of Dinosaurs |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=yyw54rNbX1kC&pg=PA434 |page=434 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=1444309110}}</ref> |
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[[File:Eastern grey kangaroo feeding on native grasses along the Gibraltar Peak Trail in the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.jpg|thumb|[[Kangaroo]]s use "pentapedal locomotion" while grazing. Here the tail and the forelimbs form a tripod.]] |
[[File:Eastern grey kangaroo feeding on native grasses along the Gibraltar Peak Trail in the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve.jpg|thumb|[[Kangaroo]]s use "pentapedal locomotion" while grazing. Here the tail and the forelimbs form a tripod.]] |
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Revision as of 04:21, 22 December 2013
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Tripoding is a behaviour in which quadraped animals rear up on their hind legs and use their tail to support this position. Several animals use this behaviour to improve observation or surveillance, during feeding, grooming, or thermoregulation, and sometimes during fighting.
Monitor lizards such as the Komodo dragon quite commonly stand on a tripod formed by their hind legs and tail.[1][2] The common dwarf mongoose also adopts a tripod stance when checking for predators.[3] Some dinosaurs may also have occasionally adopted a tripod stance.[4]
Macropods can stand erect on their hind legs, supported by their tail as the third leg of the tripod.[5] Macropods also engage in "pentapedal locomotion," an energy-inefficient gait used at slow speed, in which "the tail is used, with the forelimbs, as the third leg of a tripod to support the animal while the large hind limbs are moved forward."[6]
References
- ^ Auffenberg, Walter (1981). The Behavioral Ecology of the Komodo Monitor. University Press of Florida. p. 134. ISBN 081300621X.
- ^ Frauca, Harry (1982). What animal is that?: a guide to Australian amphibians, insects, mammals, reptiles, and spiders. Doubleday. p. 154. ISBN 0868240745.
- ^ Apps, Peter (2000). Creatures of Habit: Understanding African Animal Behaviour. Struik. p. 117. ISBN 1770073922.
- ^ Martin, Anthony J. (2009). Introduction to the Study of Dinosaurs (2nd ed.). Wiley. p. 434. ISBN 1444309110.
- ^ Hume, Ian D. (1982). Digestive Physiology and Nutrition of Marsupials. Cambridge University Press. p. 117. ISBN 0521238927.
- ^ Hume, I.D.; Jarman, P.J.; Renfree, M.B.; Temple-Smith, P.D. (1987). "29. MACROPODIDAE". Fauna of Australia. Australian Bureau of Flora and Fauna.
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