Dynamic gait transition in the Scolopendromorpha scolopocryptops rubiginosus L. Koch centipede

Abstract

Crawling using locomotory waves is a common method of locomotion for limbless and many-legged invertebrates. It is generally believed that the direction of locomotory waves is fixed for a given species. However, by recording and performing detailed analyses of the gait patterns of a Scolopendromorpha scolopocryptops rubiginosus L. Koch centipede in various conditions, we found that it dynamically generated its gait to allow for locomotory waves that varied in direction. By introducing the wave-index order parameter to characterise locomotory waves, we showed that gait patterns were associated with control of stride rather than rotation frequency.