Tag Archive for 'Climbing'

A depiction of an early Homo (right) characterized by relatively greater bone strength of the femur in the thigh compared to the humerus in the arm, and a depiction of an older human ancestor, Australopithecus (left), characterized by more equivalent strength in the bones of the arm and thigh. Image credit: Cullen Townsend.

Fossil Evidence Suggests Early Homo Had Abandoned Tree-Climbing by 1.8 Million Years Ago

Sep 16, 2026 by Enrico de Lazaro

New research led by University of the Witwatersrand and University of Southern California paleoanthropologists sheds more light on one of the most debated...

Drummond-Clarke et al. show that trees were an essential component of the hominin adaptive niche, with bipedalism evolving in an arboreal context, likely driven by foraging strategy. Illustration by Arturo Asensio, via Quo.es.

Our Ancient Ancestors May Have Climbed Trees with ‘Monkey’ Feet

Aug 25, 2026 by Sergio Prostak

An enduring debate in paleoanthropology asks what kind of foot the last common ancestor (LCA) of humans and chimpanzees had: one built like a modern ape’s...

Humans Evolved from African Ape-Like Ancestor, Research Suggests

Oct 20, 2025 by News Staff

In new research, paleoanthropologists from the United States and Canada analyzed the morphology of a hominin talus (large bone in the ankle that joins...

Life reconstruction of Australopithecus sediba commissioned by the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History. Image credit: Elisabeth Daynes / S. Entressangle.

Australopithecus sediba and Homo naledi Used Different Types of Hand Grips, Study Suggests

May 20, 2025 by News Staff

Australopithecus sediba — a small hominin species that lived about 2 million years ago — had a mix of ape-like and human-like features, while...

Pterosaurs were adapted to a remarkably broad range of non-aerial locomotor ecologies; small, early, long-tailed pterosaurs (non-pterodactyliforms) exhibit extreme modifications in their hand and foot proportions indicative of climbing lifestyles; by contrast, the hands and feet of later, short-tailed pterosaurs (pterodactyliforms) typically exhibit morphologies consistent with more ground-based locomotor ecologies: (A) paleoart reconstruction of the non-pterodactyliform Scaphognathus crassirostris (Upper Jurassic) in scansorial mode, with autopodia characterized by short proximal elements and elongated distal elements; (B) paleoart reconstruction of the pterodactyliform Balaenognathus maeuseri (Upper Jurassic) in terrestrial mode, with autopodia characterized by elongated proximal elements and shortened distal elements; (C) reconstructions of Scaphognathus (left) and Balaenognathus (right) in dorsal view indicating the principal flight surfaces; (D) simplified pterosaur phylogeny indicating the principal taxonomic groups used in the study. Image credit: Smyth et al., doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2024.09.014.

Pterosaurs were Adapted to Broad Range of Terrestrial Lifestyles, Study Shows

Oct 7, 2024 by News Staff

New research by paleontologists from the University of Leicester, the University of Birmingham and Liverpool John Moores University demonstrates an unexpectedly...

Sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys). Image credit: Luke Fannin, Dartmouth College.

‘Downclimbing’ from Trees Played Role in Early-Human Evolution

Sep 7, 2023 by News Staff

Early humans and apes likely evolved free-moving shoulders and flexible elbows to slow their descent from trees as gravity pulled on their heavier bodies,...

The climbing capabilities of living creatures such as geckos, tree frogs, and inchworms provide a promising platform for exploiting biomimetic soft climbing robots. Image credit: Sun et al., doi: 10.1016/j.xcrp.2022.101241.

GeiwBot: Gecko- and Inchworm-Inspired Robot Can Climb Walls and Ceilings

Feb 28, 2023 by News Staff

GeiwBot can climb on walls and ceilings of different textures including glass, polyimide, and aluminum; its climbing behavior is based on dynamic attachment...