Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Quadrupedal Locomotion in Vespertilionid Bats

Abstract

Abstract—Chiroptera is the order of the only mammals to have acquired flapping flight. Their musculoskeletal system is significantly reorganized. In addition, their four-legged locomotion is fundamentally different from that in typical mammals. The most up-to-date information on the terrestrial locomotion concerns the species expressing this type of movement as an integrated component of foraging behavior. Quadrupedal locomotion of other bats remains practically unstudied. This paper presents the results of experimental analysis of four-legged terrestrial locomotion in five species of vespertilionid bats. The study is based on a combination of two methods: two-angle high-speed video recording and animals’ trackways and traces analysis. The temporal, metric, and speed parameters for locomotion in different species are estimated. The dependence of the characteristics between each other is proven. This is the first time that such parameters have been studied in Chiroptera. A diagonal symmetry for the pattern of the sequential movement of limbs has been detected, while it involves a wide range of deviations atypical for quadrupedal vertebrates.