Definitions for knuckle-walking
knuckle-walk·ing

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. knuckle-walkingnoun

   A form of locomotion of some primates in which they move on all fours with pressure being taken by the knuckles.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Knuckle-walking

   Knuckle-walking is a form of quadrupedal walking in which the forelimbs hold the fingers in a partially flexed posture that allows body weight to press down on the ground through the knuckles. Gorillas, bonobos, and chimpanzees use this style of locomotion, as do anteaters and platypuses. Knuckle-walking helps with actions other than locomotion on the ground. For the gorilla, the fingers are used for the manipulation of food, and in chimpanzees, for the manipulation of food and climbing. In anteaters and pangolins, the fingers have large claws for opening the mounds of social insects. Platypus fingers have webbing that extend past the fingers to aid in swimming, thus knuckle-walking is used to prevent stumbling. Gorillas move around by knuckle-walking, although they sometimes walk bipedally for short distances while carrying food or in defensive situations. Mountain gorillas use knuckle-walking plus other parts of their hand—fist-walking does not use the knuckles, using the backs of their hand, and using their palms. Anthropologists once thought that the common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans engaged in knuckle-walking, and humans evolved upright walking from knuckle-walking, a view thought to be supported by reanalysis of overlooked features on hominid fossils. Since then, scientists discovered Ardipithecus ramidus, a human-like hominid descended from the common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans. Ar. ramidus engaged in upright walking, but not knuckle-walking. This leads to the conclusion that chimpanzees evolved knuckle-walking after they split from humans six million years ago, and humans evolved upright walking without knuckle-walking. This would imply that knuckle-walking evolved independently in the African great apes, which would mean a homoplasic evolution of this locomotor behaviour in gorillas and chimpanzees. However, other studies have argued the opposite by pointing out that the differences in knuckle-walking between gorillas and chimpanzees can be explained by differences in positional behaviour, kinematics, and the biomechanics of weight-bearing.

WikidataRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Knuckle-walking

   Knuckle-walking is a form of quadrupedal walking in which the forelimbs hold the fingers in a partially flexed posture that allows body weight to press down on the ground through the knuckles. Gorillas and chimpanzees use this style of locomotion as do anteaters and platypuses. Anthropologists once thought that the common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans engaged in knuckle-walking, and humans evolved upright walking from knuckle-walking: a view thought to be supported by reanalysis of overlooked features on hominid fossils. Since then, scientists discovered Ardipithecus ramidus, a human-like hominid descended from the common ancestor of chimpanzees and humans. Ar. ramidus engaged in upright walking, but not knuckle-walking. This leads scientists to conclude that chimpanzees evolved knuckle-walking after they split from humans 6 million years ago, and humans evolved upright walking without knuckle-walking.

How to pronounce knuckle-walking?

1. Alex

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   Mark

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   Daniel

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   Libby

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   Australian

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   Neerja

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How to say knuckle-walking in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of knuckle-walking in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of knuckle-walking in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1

References

1. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Knuckle-Walking
2. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knuckle-Walking
3. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=knuckle-walking