Standing or walking on digits/toes; animals which do so
In terrestrial vertebrates, digitigrade (/ˈdɪdʒɪtɪˌɡreɪd/)[1] locomotion is walking or running on the toes (from the Latin digitus, 'finger', and gradior, 'walk'). A digitigrade animal is one that stands or walks with its toes (phalanges) on the ground, and the rest of its foot lifted. Digitigrades include birds (what many see as bird's knees are actually ankles), cats, dogs, and many other mammals, but not plantigrades (such as humans) or unguligrades (such as horses). Digitigrades generally move more quickly than other animals.
Comparison of lower limb structure. From left to right: plantigrade, digitigrade and unguligrade. In red the basipod, in violet the metapodia, in yellow the phalanges, in brown the keratin nails.
There are structural differences between the limb anatomy of plantigrades, unguligrades, and digitigrades. Digitigrade and unguligrade animals have relatively long carpals and tarsals, and the bones which correspond to the human ankle are thus set much higher in the limb than in a human. In a digitigrade animal, this effectively lengthens the foot, so much so that what are often thought of as a digitigrade animal's "hands" and "feet" correspond to only the human fingers or toes. Digitigrade locomotion is responsible for the distinctive hooked shape of dog legs.
Plantigrade animals, such as humans, normally walk with the soles of their feet on the ground. Unguligrade animals, such as horses and cattle, walk only on the distal-most tips of their digits. Digitigrade animals walk on their distal and intermediate phalanges; more than one segment of the digit makes contact with the ground, either directly (as in birds) or via paw-pads (as in dogs and cats).
digitigrade (/ˈdɪdʒɪtɪˌɡreɪd/) locomotion is walking or running on the toes (from the Latin digitus, 'finger', and gradior, 'walk'). A digitigrade animal...
of locomotion adopted by terrestrial mammals. The other options are digitigrade, walking on the toes with the heel and wrist permanently raised, and...
species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being digitigrade. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are...
used for additional traction when stopping or descending a slope in digitigrade species. Additional dewclaws can also be present. The paw also includes...
spring, allowing digitigrade creatures more speed. Digitigrade mammals are also often adept at quiet movement. Birds are also digitigrade. Hooved mammals...
the underside of the foot. Many mammals, such as cats and dogs, are digitigrade, walking on their toes, the greater stride length allowing more speed...
along North America's northeast coast and in Great Britain. The cat is digitigrade. It walks on the toes, with the bones of the feet making up the lower...
commonly grows higher on the leg than the rest of the foot, such that in digitigrade or unguligrade species, it does not make contact with the ground when...
the cat family have the following characteristics in common: They are digitigrade and have five toes on their forefeet and four on their hind feet. Their...
on land Gait class Anatomy Comparative foot morphology Arthropod leg Digitigrade Plantigrade Unguligrade Uniped Biped (Facultative) Triped Quadruped Specific...
to perform a wide variety of functions. Most birds are classified as digitigrade animals, meaning they walk on their toes rather than the entire foot...
antecedent of the pogo stick, were attempted in the 19th century. The digitigrade stilt is a peg stilt whose line follows the foot and not the shin bone...
Greek words Indos, "from India" and hûs, "pig") is an extinct genus of digitigrade even-toed ungulates known from Eocene fossils in Asia. This small chevrotain-like...
face, pointed ears, an elongated rostrum, and a bushy tail. They are digitigrade (meaning they walk on their toes). Unlike most members of the family...
plantigrade at rest, rabbits are on their toes while running, assuming a more digitigrade posture. Rabbits use their strong claws for digging and (along with their...
and many are arboreal or semi-arboreal. Feliforms also tend to be more digitigrade (walking on toes). Most caniforms are terrestrial and have non-retractile...
grew in size. With that came longer limbs and wider feet with a more digitigrade stance, along with a larger head and shorter neck. The trunk evolved...
the hind limbs. The agouti is fleet-footed and antelope-like, being digitigrade and having hoof-like nails. The majority of rodents have tails, which...
locomotion, animals can be classified as plantigrade (sole walking), digitigrade (toe walking), or unguligrade (nail walking). The metatarsals are the...
terrestrial carnivorans, the feet have soft pads. The feet can either be digitigrade as seen in cats, hyenas and dogs or plantigrade as seen in bears, skunks...
ungulates, mesonychians (Pachyaena, for example) walked on their digits (digitigrade locomotion). Mesonychians fared very poorly at the close of the Eocene...
under the body, with slightly flexed knees and ankles, and the foot was digitigrade, meaning the animal walked on its toes. The proportionally long lower...
intermediate between a claw and a hoof. Whereas the aardvark is considered digitigrade, it appears at times to be plantigrade. This confusion happens because...
are much larger and heavier, with shorter facial portions. Hyenas are digitigrade, with the fore and hind paws having four digits each and sporting bulging...
fish Pectoral fins Pelvic fin Limbs Limb development Limb morphology digitigrade plantigrade unguligrade uniped biped facultative biped triped quadruped...
the name. However, birds actually have forward-facing knees; they are digitigrade, and what most call the "knee" is actually the ankle. The 1868 Edward...
hoofed species (unguligrade) and the clawed forms which walk on the toes (digitigrade), the heel is well above the ground at the apex of the angular joint...
debris while digging. The tail is used to balance when standing upright. Digitigrade, the meerkat has four digits on each foot with thick pads underneath...
Predators. Aliens have been alternatively portrayed as both plantigrade and digitigrade organisms, usually relative to their hosts. Human-spawned Aliens were...
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