RT Journal Article
T1 Understanding locomotion in trilobites by means of three-dimensional models
A1 Esteve Serrano, Jorge Vicente
A1 Rubio, Pedro
AB 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.
PB Cell Press
SN 2589-0042
YR 2023
FD 2023-09-15
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/87582
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/87582
LA eng
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación
NO SYNTHESYS grant
DS Docta Complutense
RD 7 abr 2025