Terrestrial locomotion of the New Zealand short-tailed bat Mystacina tuberculata and the common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus
@article{Riskin2006TerrestrialLO, title={Terrestrial locomotion of the New Zealand short-tailed bat Mystacina tuberculata and the common vampire bat Desmodus rotundus}, author={Daniel K. Riskin and Stuart Parsons and William A. Schutt and Gerald G. Carter and John W. Hermanson}, journal={Journal of Experimental Biology}, year={2006}, volume={209}, pages={1725 - 1736} }
SUMMARY Bats (Chiroptera) are generally awkward crawlers, but the common vampire bat (Desmodus rotundus) and the New Zealand short-tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata) have independently evolved the ability to manoeuvre well on the ground. In this study we describe the kinematics of locomotion in both species, and the kinetics of locomotion in M. tuberculata. We sought to determine whether these bats move terrestrially the way other quadrupeds do, or whether they possess altogether different…
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