Understanding locomotion in trilobites by means of three-dimensional models

Autor: Jorge Esteve, Pedro Rubio
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: iScience, Vol 26, Iss 9, Pp 107512- (2023)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2589-0042
DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107512
Popis: Summary: Trilobites were one of the first animals on Earth to leave their imprints on the seafloor. Such imprints represent behavioral traces related to feeding or protection, in both cases implying different types of locomotion. Modeling how trilobites moved is essential to understand their evolutionary history and ecological impact on marine substrates. Herein, locomotion in trilobites is approached by means of three-dimensional models, which yielded two main gait types. These two gaits reflect basic behaviors: burrowing and walking. This model reveals that trilobites could change their gait and consequently increase rapidly their speed varying the amplitude of the metachronal wave, a change independent from their biological structure. Fast increases in speed enhanced the protection of trilobites against predators and sudden environmental crises. The trilobite body pattern constrained their gaits, controlled by the distance between the pair of legs and between legs in a same segment.
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