Musculoskeletal modelling of the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) hindlimb: Effects of limb posture on leverage during terrestrial locomotion.

ABSTRACT: We developed a three-dimensional, computational biomechanical model of a juvenile Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) pelvis and hindlimb, composed of 47 pelvic limb muscles, to investigate muscle function. We tested whether crocodiles, which are known to use a variety of limb postures during movement, use limb orientations (joint angles) that optimise the moment arms (leverages) or moment-generating capacities of their muscles during different limb postures ranging from a high walk to a sprawling motion. We also describe the three-dimensional (3D) kinematics of the crocodylian hindlimb during terrestrial locomotion across an instrumented walkway and a treadmill captured via X-ray Reconstruction of Moving Morphology (biplanar fluoroscopy; 'XROMM'). We reconstructed the 3D positions and o

SUBMITTER: Wiseman ALA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8273584 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature