IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Hudson, P.E.; Corr, S.A.; Payne-Davis, R.C.; Clancy, S.N.; Lane, E.; Wilson, A.M. | |
| Functional anatomy of the cheetah (_Acinonyx jubatus_) forelimb | |
| 2011 Journal of Anatomy (218): 375-385 | |
Despite the cheetah being the fastest living land mammal, we know remarkably little about how it attains suchhigh top speeds (29 m s)1). Here we aim to describe and quantify the musculoskeletal anatomy of the cheetahforelimb and compare it to the racing greyhound, an animal of similar mass, but which can only attain a topspeed of 17 m s)1. Measurements were made of muscle mass, fascicle length and moment arms, enabling calculationsof muscle volume, physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA), and estimates of joint torques and rotationalvelocities. Bone lengths, masses and mid-shaft cross-sectional areas were also measured. Several speciesdifferences were observed and have been discussed, such as the long fibred serratus ventralis muscle in thecheetah, which we theorise may translate the scapula along the rib cage (as has been observed in domesticcats), thereby increasing the cheetah's effective limb length. The cheetah's proximal limb contained many largePCSA muscles with long moment arms, suggesting that this limb is resisting large ground reaction force jointtorques and therefore is not functioning as a simple strut. Its structure may also reflect a need for control andstabilisation during the high-speed manoeuvring in hunting. The large digital flexors and extensors observed inthe cheetah forelimb may be used to dig the digits into the ground, aiding with traction when galloping andmanoeuvring. |
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