Adapted to jumping
Saltatorial describes animals that have evolved to hop or jump efficiently as a way of getting around. Jumping animals, such as gerbils, kangaroos, frogs and grasshoppers, have evolved a long pair of legs with large muscles positioned at the back of their body, for maximum hopping power. The coiled, spring-like tail of the springtail is another jumping mechanism.
Watch video clips from past programmes (7 clips)
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Running cool 
Amphibian locomotion 
Jumping beans 
Little leapers Featured in the following TV programmes
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Archived
Andes to Amazon: LOST WORLDS
5th of a 6 part series exploring the wildlife & wild places of South America. Explores the difficulties faced by animals in the lush Amazon rainforest.
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Archived
Andes to Amazon: LOST WORLDS
2nd of a 6 part series exploring the wildlife & wild places of South America. Looks at the Amazon river and its flooded forests.
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Archived
Life in Cold Blood: Land Invaders
David Attenborough lokks at metre-long salamanders, show-off newts and marsupial frogs.
Earth Explorers
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Uakari: leap of faith
Struggling to film uakaris living high in the tree-tops, Chadden Hunter finally got a glimpse of their spectacular aerial trapeze act.
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Rock wallabies: nature's free runners
Not only are they expert long jumpers, but brush-tailed rock wallabies are also high-speed rock hoppers.
Species with this adaptation
Amphibians
Common toad 
Venezuela pebble toad Insects
Desert locust Mammals
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Hare
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Mountain hare
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Black-footed rock-wallaby
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Brush-tailed rock wallaby
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Eastern grey kangaroo
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Red kangaroo
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Indri
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Verreaux's sifaka
Spiders
Himalayan jumping spider About
Jumping or leaping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jumping can be distinguished from running, galloping and other gaits in which the entire body is temporarily airborne by the relatively long duration of the aerial phase and high angle of initial launch. Some animals, such as the kangaroo, employ jumping (commonly called hopping in this instance) as their primary form of locomotion, while others, such as frogs, use it only as a means to escape predators.
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Other Locomotion Adaptations
- Adapted to climbing
- Adapted to flying
- Adapted to gliding
- Adapted to jumping
- Adapted to swimming
- Sessile
Elsewhere on the web
- Jumping (wikipedia.org)
Site links
BBC links
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