All animals are mobile for at least some part of their
lives because they need to find food. Most movement is controlled by a nervous
system that causes MUSCLES to contract and relax in a co-ordinated
way. The SKELETON provides anchorage for these muscles. To move
efficiently through water, land, and air, animals have special adaptations,
such as fins, legs, and wings.
Ungulates (animals with hooves) are hunted by many predators.
Gazelles use their speed and endurance to escape capture. Their lower legs are
very long, which lengthens their stride. They also have two toes instead of
five, which needs less muscle and so saves energy.
Several tree-living animals glide from tree to tree using flaps of
skin like parachutes. Flying frogs have large, webbed feet that they hold out
when they leap so they can fly further without falling to the ground. They can
glide up to 15 m (50 ft).
Although fish are strong swimmers, many other marine animals drift
along at the mercy of the ocean currents. Jellyfish are able to control their
movement to a limited extent. They have a ring of muscle around the edge of
their bell-shaped body, which can be contracted and relaxed, like an umbrella
opening and closing. This pushes the water backwards, making the jellyfish move
in the opposite direction.
Insects are the smallest animals capable of powered flight.
Four-winged insects, such as butterflies, use muscles directly attached to the
base of their wings to move the wings up and down. Bees fly by using muscles
attached to the top and bottom of their body. When the muscles contract, the
wings move upward; when they relax, the wings drop down.
Muscles are bundles of fibres that provide the power for
animals to move. When a nerve stimulates a muscle into action, the muscles
contract (pull back), causing movement. In simple animals, such as snails,
muscles contract in waves from one end of the body to the other, pushing the
animal along. In vertebrates, such as the horse, muscles work in pairs and pull
against bones. The area where different bones meet is called a joint.
Fleas need to jump around in order to find an animal from which to
suck blood. They can leap an amazing 33 cm (13 in), using muscle energy that is
stored in a pad of springy material, called resilin, in their legs. When the
leg muscles are triggered to jump, the flea is catapulted into the air.
Many animals have a rigid skeleton to support their
bodies and some have jointed legs, which allow them to move rapidly. Mammals
have the most complex skeletons of all animals. They have backbones made up of
many small bones called vertebrae and limbs with several joint types. This
complicated skeleton enables them to make lots of different
movements.
Sharks bodies are specialized for moving fast through water. They
have skeletons made from a firm elastic substance called cartilage. Cartilage
is lighter than bone, enabling sharks to swim efficiently. Using rhythmic
contractions of their body muscle, and with additional push from their tail,
they reach speeds of 30–50 kph (19–31 mph).
