RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Active and passive mechanics for rough terrain traversal in centipedes JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 2022.06.17.496557 DO 10.1101/2022.06.17.496557 A1 Kelimar Diaz A1 Eva Erickson A1 Baxi Chong A1 Daniel Soto A1 Daniel I. Goldman YR 2022 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/06/17/2022.06.17.496557.abstract AB Centipedes coordinate body and limb flexion to generate propulsion. On flat solid surfaces, the limb-stepping patterns can be characterized according to the direction in which limbaggregates propagate, opposite to (retrograde) or with the direction of motion (direct). It is unknown how limb and body dynamics are modified in terrain with terradynamic complexity more representative of their natural heterogeneous environments. Here, we investigated how centipedes that use retrograde and direct limp-stepping patterns, S. polymorpha and S. sexspinosus, respectively, coordinate their body and limbs to navigate laboratory environments which present footstep challenges and terrain rugosity. We recorded the kinematics and measured the locomotive performance of these animals traversing two rough terrains with randomly distributed step heights and compared the kinematics to those on a flat frictional surface. S. polymorpha exhibited similar body and limb dynamics across all terrains and a decrease in speed with increased terrain roughness. Unexpectedly, when placed in a rough terrain, S. sexspinosus changed the limb-stepping pattern from direct to retrograde. Further, for both species, traversal of rough terrains was facilitated by hypothesized passive mechanics: upon horizontal collision of a limb with a block, the limb passively bent and later continued the stepping pattern. While centipedes have many degrees of freedom. our results suggest these animals negotiate limb-substrate interactions and navigate complex terrains, by offloading complex control and leveraging the innate flexibility of their limbs.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.