Pump the brakes! The hindlimbs of three-toed sloths decelerate and support suspensory locomotion.

ABSTRACT: Modern tree sloths are one of few mammalian taxa for which quadrupedal suspension is obligatory. Sloth limb musculature is specialized for slow velocity, large force contractions that stabilize their body below branches and conserve energy during locomotion. However, it is unknown whether two- and three-toed sloths converge in their use of limb kinetics and if these patterns are comparable to how primates perform arboreal suspensory locomotion. This study addressed this need by collecting limb loading data in three-toed sloths (Bradypus variegatus; N=5) during suspensory walking. Sloths performed locomotor trials at their preferred speed on an instrumented beam apparatus with a force platform as the central supporting segment. Peak forces and impulses of the forelimb and hindlimb were reco

SUBMITTER: McKamy AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10263148 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature