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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Functional anatomy of the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) forelimb
Journal of Anatomy, Volume 218, No. 4, Year 2011
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Description
Despite the cheetah being the fastest living land mammal, we know remarkably little about how it attains such high top speeds (29ms-1). Here we aim to describe and quantify the musculoskeletal anatomy of the cheetah forelimb and compare it to the racing greyhound, an animal of similar mass, but which can only attain a top speed of 17ms-1. Measurements were made of muscle mass, fascicle length and moment arms, enabling calculations of muscle volume, physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA), and estimates of joint torques and rotational velocities. Bone lengths, masses and mid-shaft cross-sectional areas were also measured. Several species differences were observed and have been discussed, such as the long fibred serratus ventralis muscle in the cheetah, which we theorise may translate the scapula along the rib cage (as has been observed in domestic cats), thereby increasing the cheetah's effective limb length. The cheetah's proximal limb contained many large PCSA muscles with long moment arms, suggesting that this limb is resisting large ground reaction force joint torques and therefore is not functioning as a simple strut. Its structure may also reflect a need for control and stabilisation during the high-speed manoeuvring in hunting. The large digital flexors and extensors observed in the cheetah forelimb may be used to dig the digits into the ground, aiding with traction when galloping and manoeuvring. © 2011 The Authors. Journal of Anatomy © 2011 Anatomical Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
Authors & Co-Authors
Corr, Sandra A.
United Kingdom, London
Royal Veterinary College University of London
United Kingdom, Nottingham
University of Nottingham, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Payne-Davis, Rachel C.
United Kingdom, London
Royal Veterinary College University of London
Clancy, Sinead N.
United Kingdom, London
Royal Veterinary College University of London
United Kingdom, Nottingham
University of Nottingham, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Lane, Emily P.
South Africa, Pretoria
National Zoological Gardens of South Africa
Wilson, Alan Martin
United Kingdom, London
Royal Veterinary College University of London
Statistics
Citations: 82
Authors: 5
Affiliations: 3
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1111/j.1469-7580.2011.01344.x
ISSN:
00218782
Study Design
Cross Sectional Study