Locomotion

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images & Videos

Least tern, Sternula antillarum, flying with wings raised and its yellow-tipped black bill pointed forward.

Close-up of a dark brown dwarf reed snake coiled and looping across sandy ground.

Pseudopodial locomotion.

A diagram shows illustrations of five animals-herring gull, crow, spotted sandpiper, sidewinder rattlesnake, and grasshopper-each paired with a drawing of their distinctive tracks as they move across a surface.

Illustrated chart showing the footprints of eight animals-opossum, skunk, raccoon, red fox, woodchuck, cottontail rabbit, gray squirrel, and muskrat-each with labeled front and hind foot tracks next to a drawing of the animal.

Illustration of various animals running or moving, each labeled with its top speed, including cheetah, pronghorn antelope, ostrich, giraffe, elephant, deer, gazelle, greyhound, jackrabbit, fox, emu, roadrunner, warthog, rhinoceros, Mongolian wild ass, two-toed sloth, and desert tortoise.

Peringuey's sidewinding adder

Side-by-side skeletal diagrams compare a modern human standing upright and a gorilla walking on all fours, with labeled bones and close-up views of the female pelvis for each species.

Discover how individual cilia employ viscous drag to coordinate power and recovery strokes for locomotion

Take a microscopic look at how a eukaryotic flagellate's flagellum propels the organism through water

At a Glance

default image

locomotion summary

Locomotion: Media

behavior

Videos

Close-up of a dark brown dwarf reed snake coiled and looping across sandy ground.

Watch the Dwarf Reed Snake “Cartwheel” Away From the Danger

This snake exhibits an unusual type of locomotion: a form of active rolling.

Video: Yosuke Kojima and Ibuki Fukuyama / Current Biology / thumbnail © Vince Adam/Shutterstock.com

Discover how individual cilia employ viscous drag to coordinate power and recovery strokes for locomotion

Discover how individual cilia employ viscous drag to coordinate power and recovery strokes for locomotion

Learn about the coordinated beating of cilia, which propel protozoans through water.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Take a microscopic look at how a eukaryotic flagellate's flagellum propels the organism through water

Take a microscopic look at how a eukaryotic flagellate's flagellum propels the organism through water

Movement of eukaryotic flagella in real time and slow motion.

Video: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

A spider appears to run or gallop across the surface of water, shown in a grainy, high-contrast image.

How Do Some Spiders Walk on Water?

Some spiders seem to “gallop” across the surface of water.

Video: © Open University (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Know how some spiders walk on the surface of the water

Know how some spiders walk on the surface of the water

Learn how some spiders move across the surface of water.

Video: © Open University (A Britannica Publishing Partner)

Images

Least tern, Sternula antillarum, flying with wings raised and its yellow-tipped black bill pointed forward.

The least tern (Sternula antillarum) is known by its yellow bill, black head, and white feathers.

These birds largely reside in coastal areas of North America, although some populations...

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Pseudopodial locomotion.

Pseudopodial locomotion.

Pseudopodial locomotion.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

A diagram shows illustrations of five animals-herring gull, crow, spotted sandpiper, sidewinder rattlesnake, and grasshopper-each paired with a drawing of their distinctive tracks as they move across a surface.

animal tracks

Tracks of selected animals.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Illustrated chart showing the footprints of eight animals-opossum, skunk, raccoon, red fox, woodchuck, cottontail rabbit, gray squirrel, and muskrat-each with labeled front and hind foot tracks next to a drawing of the animal.

Animal tracks

Tracks of various North American mammals.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Illustration of various animals running or moving, each labeled with its top speed, including cheetah, pronghorn antelope, ostrich, giraffe, elephant, deer, gazelle, greyhound, jackrabbit, fox, emu, roadrunner, warthog, rhinoceros, Mongolian wild ass, two-toed sloth, and desert tortoise.

animal speed records

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Peringuey's sidewinding adder

Peringuey's sidewinding adder

Peringuey's sidewinding adder (Bitis peringueyi).

Michael Fogden/Bruce Coleman Ltd.

Side-by-side skeletal diagrams compare a modern human standing upright and a gorilla walking on all fours, with labeled bones and close-up views of the female pelvis for each species.

skeletons of humans and gorillas compared

The skeletal structure of a human being (left) and of a gorilla (right). Several...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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