How the tail affects the speed of geckos (and not only)

The movement of the tail from side to side in dogs is most often associated with their positive emotions. However, this behavior can also help them take longer steps and move faster. At least this is indicated by studies that have been conducted on leopard geckos. What does a gecko have to do with it? The fact is that many animals use tails with the same goals. And geckos are simply more convenient to study the influence of the tail, because they often lose it in case of danger.

How to quickly lose weight: advice from geckos

In this study, scientists compared the pristine tail geckos to their counterparts who either lost their tail or were unable to move due to the graphite rod, which limited lateral movements. This process allowed researchers to explain the difference in weight and the displacement of the center of mass associated with the dropping of the tail - geckos lose up to 30 percent of their body weight when they lose their tails.

The researchers found that if the horizontal movements of the gecko tails were disturbed, this limited the rotation of their pelvis, which ultimately reduced the stride length. Most importantly, active tail swinging left-to-right may mean a desire to get somewhere faster, not only in lizards, but also in many other animals, for example, dogs.

The main thing is the tail

In general, tails play an important role in animal life. For example, they store a stock of fat in lizards (that is, they act as something like an analog of camel humps). Finally, everyone knows that the unique ability of cats to land on all four legs and all their coordination skills, which would have been envied by elite commandos and ancient Japanese ninjas, is the result of masterfully owning a comfortable fluffy tail.

Now scientists have found a new pattern. It seems that the tail is a bit of an additional “load” for the efficient movement of the paws. Accordingly, the longer the tail, the faster the animal can move. Nature has again shown that it does nothing for nothing. Behind any of the strangest or most useless actions is a great evolutionary meaning.