ArticleIntegrative and comparative biology2021
Tails, Flails, and Sails: How Appendages Improve Terrestrial Maneuverability by Improving Stability.
Article in Integrative and comparative biology, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 16 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed.
- Ethological learning during the critical period resets synaptic setpoints in mouse binocular visual cortex.Neuron · 2026Article
- Rocky Planets as Heat Engines.Space science reviews · 2026Review
- Resourcefulness, Robustness, and Recovery: Tail Use during Climbing in Rats.Integrative and comparative biology · 2025Article
- Centres of rotation and osteological constraints on caudal ranges of motion in the sauropod dinosaurRoyal Society open science · 2025Article
- Age-Related differences in arm acceleration and center of mass control during a slip incident.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Context-dependent coordination of movement in Tribolium castaneum larvae.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- A combination of transcriptomics and epigenomics identifies genes and regulatory elements involved in embryonic tail development in the mouse.BMC biology · 2025Article
- Jointed tails enhance control of three-dimensional body rotation.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2025Article
- Potential Importance of Maximal Upper Body Strength-Generating Qualities and Upper Body Strength Training for Performance of High-Intensity Running and Jumping Actions: A Scoping Review.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- The role of mouse tails in response to external and self-generated balance perturbations on the roll plane.The Journal of experimental biology · 2024Article
- The importance of continents, oceans and plate tectonics for the evolution of complex life: implications for finding extraterrestrial civilizations.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Body Caudal Undulation Measured by Soft Sensors and Emulated by Soft Artificial Muscles.Integrative and comparative biology · 2021Article
- Inertial Tail Effects during Righting of Squirrels in Unexpected Falls: From Behavior to Robotics.Integrative and comparative biology · 2021Article
- Future Tail Tales: A Forward-Looking, Integrative Perspective on Tail Research.Integrative and comparative biology · 2021Review
- Mechanisms for Mid-Air Reorientation Using Tail Rotation in Gliding Geckos.Integrative and comparative biology · 2021Article
- Undulatory Swimming Performance Explored With a Biorobotic Fish and Measured by Soft Sensors and Particle Image Velocimetry.Frontiers in robotics and AI · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Trade-offs in maneuverability and stability are essential in ecologically relevant situations with respect to robustness of locomotion, with multiple strategies apparent in animal model systems depending on their habitat and ecology. Free appendages such as tails and ungrounded limbs may assist in navigating this trade-off by assisting with balance, thereby increasing the acceleration that can be achieved without destabilizing the body. This comparative analysis explores the inertial mechanisms and, in some cases, fluid dynamic mechanisms by which appendages contribute to the stabilization of gait and perturbation response behaviors in a wide variety of animals. Following a broad review of examples from nature and bio-inspired robotics that illustrate the importance of appendages to the control of body orientation, two specific cases are examined through preliminary experiments: the role of arm motion in bipedal gait termination is explored using trajectory optimization, and the role of the cheetah's tail during a deceleration maneuver is analyzed based on motion capture data. In both these examples, forward rotation of the appendage in question is found to counteract the unwanted forward pitch caused by the braking forces. It is theorized that this stabilizing action may facilitate more rapid deceleration by allowing larger or longer-acting braking forces to be applied safely.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.