Wheels in animals

[iNow]

Had a dog once that loved to chew anything it could find. Nothing was off limits. Sticks. Stones. Food scraps, furniture, clothing, anything left laying around on the ground really. Then one day she swallowed a Matchbox car toy. It was painted bright orange with a confederate flag on top just like the one on Dukes of Hazard… so I suppose technically speaking… at least that ONE particular animal had “wheels in it” (at least, that is, until she took a giant General Lee dump a few days later). 

Edited January 6, 2023 by iNow

[Phi for All]

24 minutes ago, iNow said:

Had a dog once that loved to chew anything it could find. Nothing was off limits. Sticks. Stones. Food scraps, furniture, clothing, anything left laying around on the ground really. Then one day she swallowed a Matchbox car toy. It was painted bright orange with a confederate flag on top just like the one on Dukes of Hazard… so I suppose technically speaking… at least that ONE particular animal had “wheels in it” (at least, that is, until she took a giant General Lee dump a few days later). 

Reminds me of Ron White's joke about finding one of his dog's turds that said "Titleist" on the side of it, so he figured out what happened to his golfing glove. 

[mistermack]

2 hours ago, TheVat said:

More possible could be an animal that can already turn itself into a sort of wheel, like an armadillo or hedgehog, developing some way to accentuate its mobility as a wheel - perhaps providing motive force with puffs of air or side-projecting limbs that kick against the ground to keep rolling.

This actually works, and did exist as late as the stone age, but seems to have gone extinct now.

 

[Ken Fabian]

"Wheels" as a lasso style arrangement of tail or tentacle or flagellum type structures seems hypothetically possible to me - they wouldn't have axles or need them but could rely on twisting back and forth within each appendage itself to maintain near continuous motion. Near continuous because (off the top of my head) it seems to require a momentary "skip" on each turn, for the appendage to recover from the winding motion. No such structures have been observed to my knowledge.

Wheels work best on smooth open ground with either low or no vegetation; only in a few habitats would wheels provide significant advantage.

Edited January 7, 2023 by Ken Fabian

[Moontanman]

On 1/6/2023 at 9:25 AM, Sensei said:

..and there are animals that put their tail in their mouths and roll swiftly through the desert..

Any chance you can give an example of that? 

[Sensei]

@Moontanman The problem is google has become almost useless these days.. I tried to find several times (to be shown in the first post).. gives more interesting "dancing lizard" videos instead.. It was (quite obviously) a lizard, living in the desert.. He/she climbed to the top of the sand and instead of descending, rolled down it..

[iNow]

There’s a whole wiki article for rotating locomotion in living systems which feels like it should’ve been shared by now: 

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotating_locomotion_in_living_systems

[Genady]

36 minutes ago, iNow said:

There’s a whole wiki article for rotating locomotion in living systems which feels like it should’ve been shared by now: 

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotating_locomotion_in_living_systems

This is a comprehensive article. Adds more constrains and limitations for evolution, development, and use of wheels in organisms to a few discussed. Also answers the exchange between @Sensei and @Moontanman above.

[iNow]

Correct 

[Moontanman]

On 1/7/2023 at 11:30 AM, Sensei said:

@Moontanman The problem is google has become almost useless these days.. I tried to find several times (to be shown in the first post).. gives more interesting "dancing lizard" videos instead.. It was (quite obviously) a lizard, living in the desert.. He/she climbed to the top of the sand and instead of descending, rolled down it..

The problem is that what you describe is an "old wives tale" I am not an expert by any means but the idea of an animal taking it's tongue in it's mouth and rolling like a wheel is somewhat less than credible my friend. I am a reptile freak and this idea does not ring true by any means. 

19 hours ago, Genady said:

This is a comprehensive article. Adds more constrains and limitations for evolution, development, and use of wheels in organisms to a few discussed. Also answers the exchange between @Sensei and @Moontanman above.

Kudos for your link but it you try to click on many of the links it contain it "rolls" back to itself. I am not sure but a pangolin rolling due to wind is simply silly. 

[iNow]

Thx for the heads up. I shared that one tho

[Genady]

Correct

20 hours ago, Genady said:

20 hours ago, iNow said:

There’s a whole wiki article for rotating locomotion in living systems which feels like it should’ve been shared by now: 

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotating_locomotion_in_living_systems

This is a comprehensive article.

 

[TheVat]

2 hours ago, Moontanman said:

I am not sure but a pangolin rolling due to wind is simply silly. 

(with apologies to Bob Dylan)

How many roads must a pangolin walk down

Before it can learn how to roll?

Yes and how many miles must an armadillo cross

Before it can end its weary stroll?

The answer my friend is rolling in the wind

The answer is rolling in the wind.

[iNow]

Sounds like a Weird Al parody of Dylan

[Saber]

Because  evolution has found no way to transfer meterial (  blood )   &  nerves    in and out  the  wheel

I  mean  into  the  wheel organ  &  out  from it......

Edited January 15, 2023 by Saber

[iNow]

Oh, thank goodness you clarified that

[Alex Abagagyan]

A wheel and axle are simple machines. A wheel with bearings between the wheel and axle is a slightly more complex machine. 

Perhaps more importantly, the wheel, bearings and axle are external to each other. 

Mammals don't evolve, for the most part, detachable parts that can be re-assembled as a machine. 

Edited January 16, 2023 by Alex Abagagyan

[Intoscience]

The wheel is not really very efficient for manoeuvrability unless the terrain is compatible. Since most animals face a multitude of differing terrain to over come then that flexibility trumps the potential speed benefit of a wheel. 

Additionally I would imagine the mechanism to drive a wheel would be quite complicated using organic material and terribly inefficient. 

Hence we developed, change the terrain to suit the wheel rather than the other way round. Other than off road vehicles which are still quite limited. 

[John Cuthber]

So, aside from the issue of connecting blood supplies / nerves etc, and the fact that wheels are only useful if you have a "road" and the challenge of finding a use for half a wheel?

 

 

... tumbleweed...

[Moontanman]

3 hours ago, John Cuthber said:

So, aside from the issue of connecting blood supplies / nerves etc, and the fact that wheels are only useful if you have a "road" and the challenge of finding a use for half a wheel?

 

 

... tumbleweed...

Yes but tumbleweeds only tumble after they are dead. 

[John Cuthber]

15 minutes ago, Moontanman said:

Yes but tumbleweeds only tumble after they are dead. 

The seeds are alive, and they travel on "wheels"

 

[Genady]

2 hours ago, John Cuthber said:

The seeds are alive, and they travel on "wheels"

 

What do you think about rolling pandas? Looks like a mode of transportation for them: Rolling Is A Specialty For Pandas | iPanda - Bing video

[geordief]

20 minutes ago, Genady said:

What do you think about rolling pandas? Looks like a mode of transportation for them: Rolling Is A Specialty For Pandas | iPanda - Bing video

I think they should contribute to the cost of their accommodation .They are having far too good a time.

Same goes for tobogganing penguins.

 

Edited January 16, 2023 by geordief

[John Cuthber]

19 hours ago, Genady said:

What do you think about rolling pandas?

I think they look cute.
But I still don't think any of this really counts as a wheel.

[Genady]

13 minutes ago, John Cuthber said:

I still don't think any of this really counts as a wheel

Me neither.

Pandas and tumbleweed.