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Quadrupedal

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Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior

Synonyms

Quadrupedalism

Definition

Movement using a combination of four limbs.

Quadrupedal locomotion encapsulates any form of progression in which four limbs support and propel the body. Quadrupedal movement represents the basal condition for all tetrapods and as such remains the most commonly utilized form of locomotion (see Fig. 1 and Granatosky 2018 for data on mammals). Interestingly, the origins of quadrupedal locomotion appear to predate the invasion onto land by tetrapods. Experimental studies on living sarcopterygians (i.e., lungfish and coelacanths) demonstrate that the neuromuscular patterns and functional subdivisions of the “limbs” required for effective quadrupedal locomotion were likely present in fully aquatic tetrapod ancestors prior to the invasion onto land (Aiello et al. 2014; Décamps et al. 2017; Fricke and Hissmann 1992).

Fig. 1
figure 1

The percentages of locomotor behaviors observed for extant mammals. (Adapted from Granatosky (2018))

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Michael C. Granatosky

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  1. Michael C. Granatosky
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Correspondence to Michael C. Granatosky .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University , Rochester, MI, USA

    Jennifer Vonk

  2. Department of Psychology, Oakland University Department of Psychology, Rochester, MI, USA

    Todd Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Khalil Iskarous

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Granatosky, M.C. (2019). Quadrupedal. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1442-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1442-1

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