Animal locomotion

A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element capable of changing length and rotating about an omnidirectional "hip" joint.

lower extremity or limb of the human body (foot, lower leg, thigh, and hip)

self-propulsion by an animal

property of organisms that do not possess a means of self-locomotion and are normally immobile

thumb|Pseudogarypus synchrotron Henderickx et al. 2012 specimen in Baltic amber.thumb|Male Bombus hypnorum with phoretic mites. [[Botevgrad, Bulgaria.]] thumb|Pseudoscorpion hitching a ride on a fly thumb|A pseudoscorpion on the leg of a crane fly

thumb|230px|Cape ground squirrel

locomotory appendage of arthropods

phenomenon and topic of discourse in evolutionary biology and biomechanics

biologically propelled motion through a liquid medium; in contrast of passive swimming (floating); involves the expenditure of energy to travel to a desired location

work by Aristotle

ways that fish move

movements produced by the sequential action (as opposed to synchronized) of structures

thumb|275px|Horses can be considered cursorial grazers. A cursorial organism is one that is adapted specifically to run. An animal can be considered cursorial if it has the ability to run fast (e.g. cheetah) or if it can keep a constant speed for a long distance (high endurance). "Cursorial" is often used to categorize a certain locomotor mode, which is helpful for biologists who examine behaviors of different animals and the way they move in their environment. Cursorial adaptations can be identified by morphological characteristics (e.g. loss of lateral digits as in ungulate species), physiol