The extraordinary athletic performance of leaping gibbons

Biology Letters

Volumn 8, Issue 1, 2012, Pages 46-49

  Channon, Anthony J ^a,b   Usherwood, James R ^b   Crompton, Robin H ^a   Günther, Michael M ^a   Vereecke, Evie E ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF LIVERPOOL   (United Kingdom)

^b ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE   (United Kingdom)

^c UNIVERSITY OF LEUVEN   (Belgium)

Author keywords

Gibbon; Leaping; Power; Primate; Work

Indexed keywords

BEHAVIORAL RESPONSE; FOREST CANOPY; LOCOMOTION; MORPHOLOGY; PRIMATE;

ANIMALIA; GALAGONIDAE; HYLOBATIDAE; PRIMATES;

EID: 84856246607     PISSN: 17449561     EISSN: 1744957X     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2011.0574     Document Type: Article

References (21)

1. Aerts, P. 1998 Vertical jumping in Galago senegalensis: the quest for an obligate mechanical power amplifier. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 353, 1607-1620. (doi:10.1098/rstb.1998.0313)
2. Burrows, M. 2003 Biomechanics: froghopper insects leap to new heights. Nature 424, 509. (doi:10.1038/424509a)
3. Bennet-Clark, H. C. & Lucey, E. C. A. 1967 The jump of the flea: a study of the energetics and a model of the mechanism. J. Exp. Biol. 47, 59-76.
4. Bennet-Clark, H. C. 1975 The energetics of the jump of the locust Schistocerca gregaria. J. Exp. Biol. 63, 53-83.
5. Günther, M. M., Ishida, H., Kumakura, H. & Nakano, Y. 1991 The jump as a fast mode of locomotion in arboreal and terrestrial biotopes. Z.Morphol. Anthropol. 78, 341-372.
6. Lutz, G. J. & Rome, L. C. 1994 Built for jumping: the design of the frog muscular system. Science 263, 370-372. (doi:10.1126/science.8278808)
7. Azizi, E. & Roberts, T. J. 2010 Muscle performance during frog jumping: influence of elasticity on muscle operating lengths. Proc. R. Soc. B 277, 1523-1530. (doi:10.1098/rspb.2009.2051)
8. Alexander, R. M. 1995 Leg design and jumping technique for humans, other vertebrates and insects. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 347, 235-248. (doi:10.1098/rstb.1995.0024)
9. Cheng, K. B., Wang, C. H., Chen, H. C., Wu, C. D. & Chui, H. T. 2008 The mechanisms that enable arm motion to enhance vertical jump performance: a simulation study. J. Biomech. 41, 1847-1854. (doi:10.1016/j.jbiomech.2008.04. 004)
10. Minetti, A. E. & Ardigó, L. P. 2002 Halteres used in ancient Olympic long jump. Nature 420, 141-142. (doi:10.1038/420141a)
11. Fleagle, J. G. 1976 Locomotion and posture of the Malayan siamang and implications for hominoid evolution. Folia Primatol. 26, 245-269. (doi:10.1159/000155756)
12. Schultz, A. H. 1956 The occurrence and frequency of pathological and teratological conditions and of twinning among non-human primates. Folia Primatol. 1, 965-1014.
13. Gittins, S. P. 1983 Use of the forest canopy by the agile gibbon. Folia Primatol. 40, 134-144. (doi:10.1159/000156095)
14. Channon, A. J., Günther, M. M., Crompton, R. H. & Vereecke, E. E. 2009 Mechanical constraints on the functional morphology of the gibbon hind limb. J. Anat. 215, 383-400. (doi:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2009.01123.x)
15. Michilsens, F., Vereecke, E. E., D'Août, K. & Aerts, P. 2009 Muscle moment arms and function of the siamang forelimb during brachiation. J. Anat. 215, 335-354. (doi:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2009.01109.x)
16. Isler, K., Payne, R. C., Gunther, M. M., Thorpe, S. K. S., Li, Y., Savage, R. & Crompton, R. H. 2006 Inertial properties of hominoid limb segments. J. Anat. 209, 201-218. (doi:10.1111/j.1469-7580.2006.00588.x)
17. Scholz, M. N., D'Août, K., Bobbert, M. F. & Aerts, P. 2006 Vertical jumping performance of bonobo (Pan paniscus) suggests superior muscle properties. Proc. R. Soc. B 273, 2177-2184. (doi:10.1098/rspb.2006.3568)
18. Marsh, R. L. & John-Adler, H. B. 1994 Jumping performance of hylid frogs measured with high-speed cine film. J. Exp. Biol. 188, 131-141.
19. Alexander, R. M. 1982 Locomotion of animals, p. 111. Glasgow, UK: Blackie & Son Ltd.
20. Alexander, R. M. 1992 The work that muscles can do. Nature 357, 360-361. (doi:10.1038/357360a0)
21. Vereecke, E. E., D'Août, K. & Aerts, P. 2006 Locomotor versatility of the white-handed gibbon (Hylobates lar): a spatiotemporal analysis of the bipedal, tripedal and quadrupedal gaits. J. Hum. Evol. 50, 552-567. (doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2005.12.011)