:: : And " traditionally bipedal dinosaurs have been viewed as strict digitigrade walkers " according to this academic paper whereas reptiles are apparently plantigrade ( until they pick up speed ! ) . cursorial relates to that . talk ) 04 : 07, 4 May 2008 ( UTC)
42.
The limb bones of " Barosaurus " were virtually indistinguishable from those of " Diplodocus " . " Barosaurus " feet have never been discovered, but like other sauropods, it would have been digitigrade, with all four feet each bearing five small toes.
43.
Unguligrade animals, such as horses and cattle, walk only on the distal-most tips of their digits, while in digitigrade animals, more than one segment of the digit makes contact with the ground, either directly ( as in birds ) or via paw-pads ( as in dogs ).
44.
More generally, the term can refer to anything with uniquely human characteristics and / or adaptations, such as possessing opposable anterior forelimb-appendages ( thumbs ), visible spectrum-binocular vision ( having two eyes ), or biomechanic digitigrade-bipedalism ( the ability to walk on heels in an upright position ).
45.
Even though plantigrade locomotion usually distributes more weight toward the end of the limb than digitigrade locomotion, which increases energy expenditure in most systems, studies have shown that the human heel-first gait conserves more energy over long distances than other gaits, which is consistent with the belief that humans are evolutionarily specialized for long-distance movement.
46.
With the ability to take extra prosthetics such as layers of fur or skin " to resemble a digitigrade leg, from canine and feline to fantastical demons, dragons, satyrs and even robots ", these devices are promoted as being easy to get used to, partly because they " allow for realistic and natural movement as they are jointed at the knee and the ankle ."
47.
Dinosauromorph characteristics include digitigrade prints ( in which only the digits touch the ground ), bunched metatarsals, a reduction of the first and fifth digits, and the posterior deflection of the fifth digit . " Prorotodactylus " prints share several characteristics with the dinosauromorph genus " Lagerpeton " from Argentina, indicating that the print maker was closely related to " Lagerpeton ".
