BIPEDALISM IN GLYPTODON CLAVIPES (MAMMALIA, XENARTHRA): THE RESULTS OF A BIOMECHANICAL MODEL

ELISSAMBURU ANDREA

Autor/Editor

Año: 2015 p. 44

978-987-33-9561-1

Glyptodont clavipes (Cingulata, Glyptodontidae) was a massive mammal with a rigid carapace for which bipedalism has been proposed. In this work, bipedal posture is explored by way of a biomechanical model that has been previously tested in extant mammals, and the predictions are supported with biomechanical and morphofunctional approaches. I show that G. clavipes could adopt a bipedal posture rest its mass on the hind limbs while maintaining its trunk in a horizontal position, leaving forelimb free of its body support function. This work clarifies the bipedalism of G. clavipes and discusses its biological importance for locomotion and other biological functions. Additionally, limb and body proportions needed to adopt bipedal stance in quadruped mammals, and a model that may be used to interpret bipedal postures in extant and fossil mammals is given, thus offering a new means to study bipedalism.