Estimation of the forces exerted on the limb long bones of a white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) using musculoskeletal modelling and simulation.

ABSTRACT: Heavy animals incur large forces on their limb bones, due to the transmission of body weight and ground reaction forces, and the contractions of the various muscles of the limbs. This is particularly true for rhinoceroses, the heaviest extant animals capable of galloping. Several studies have examined their musculoskeletal system and the forces their bones incur, but no detailed quantification has ever been attempted. Such quantification could help understand better the link between form and function in giant land animals. Here we constructed three-dimensional musculoskeletal models of the forelimb and hindlimb of Ceratotherium simum, the heaviest extant rhino species, and used static optimisation (inverse) simulations to estimate the forces applied on the bones when standing at rest, incl

SUBMITTER: Etienne C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11259748 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature