There are millions of animals found on earth that moves about in hundreds of different ways. Some walk or run, while some others jump, crawl, swim, fly or glide.
The various types of movements of different land animals are as follows.
(a) Walking: Four legged animals walk by moving the fore-leg of one side together with the hind-leg of the other. This is the basic movement of animals with limbs. Insects which have six legs move fore and hind legs of one side with the middle leg of the other side so that the body is always supported firmly by the other three legs.
(b) Pacing or ambling: Elephants, giraffes, camels and a few other animals move both legs of the same side simultaneously.
(c) Trotting: This type of movement is characteristic of horses, cattle and many other four-legged animals. It requires a little effort and can continue for long distances.
(d) Galloping: In this type of movement all the four feet remain in air for some distance. This is very tiring. Horses and cheetahs can gallop at a high speed.
(e) Jumping: Kangaroos, frogs, grass hoppers, and fleas are excellent jumpers. They can jump to different heights.
(f) Contracting and expanding: Creatures like earthworm, slugs and snails move by passing a wave of contraction along their body. Among these animals waves of muscular contraction and expansion pass along the body from front to back.
(g) Crawling: A snake moves through muscle contraction and relaxation. It moves by wriggling along the ground or swinging its body in loops. It also crawls with the help of the overlapping scales on its belly with which it hitches itself on a rough surface effectively.
(h) Undulatory walking: This type of motion is peculiar to lizards. A lizard uses its legs for walking in the same way as a crawling baby. But because its belly rests on the ground, it undulate its body as well. Crocodiles, newts and salamanders also walk like this.
Now let us take the different types of movements of different water creatures.
(a) Fish swimming: A fish swims by making side to side strokes of its tail.
(b) Amoeboid movement: Amoeba is a tiny creature whose body is like a jelly. It puts out a tentacle and then pushes the whole body to flow into it and thereby changes its position.
(c) Ciliary movement: Some protozoa have very fine filaments called cilia or flagella. They swim by lashing them in the water.
(d) Movement by undulation: Eels and snakes swim by a wavy movement of the whole body as their body is flexible.
(e) Rowing and paddling: Turtles and ducks swim by paddling with their feet.
(f) Movement of the dorsal fin: A sea horse swims by rapid undulation of its dorsal fin.
Following are the animal movements in air.
- Flight: Birds, bats, and insects fly by up and down movement of their wings. The open wings present a large surface area which keeps the animal in air and propel it.
- Gliding: Flying squirrel and flying snake have a thin sheet of skin on each side of their bodies. The membranes support them in the air and they can glide from one tree to another. Some types of lizards glide in the same way.