2011年12月23日 · Elephant predigits are deeply embedded in the digital cushions or fat pads of the feet, thus their positions and motions are obscured. The thick keratinized skin of elephant feet prevents ultrasound or x-ray imaging at safe intensities, thus preventing in vivo investigation.

2016年10月1日 · African elephants (like Asian species) walk on their ‘tip-toes’ (subunguligrade), yet their feet are effectively flat (i.e. functionally plantigrade) due to a large, compliant fat pad that fills the space behind the toes .

2011年12月23日 · Our survey shows that basal proboscideans were relatively “flat-footed” (plantigrade), whereas early elephantiforms evolved the more derived “tip-toed” (subunguligrade) morphology, including the...

digit-like structures (“predigits”), such as pandas’“thumbs.” Elephants similarly have expanded structures in the fat pads of their fore- and hindfeet, but for three centuries these have been overlooked as mere cartilaginous curiosities. We show that these are indeed massive sesamoids

They also have a large fat pad – equivalent to the human heel – that fills the shape behind the toes. The pad has the ability to spread out and potentially reduce pressure when the foot hits the ground, similar to the human heel in barefoot runners. Elephants also have enlarged false toes, or predigits, that are embedded on the pads. These ...

2024年8月18日 · Fat Pad: Beneath the foot lies a thick, fatty cushion that acts as a shock absorber. This pad helps to reduce the impact on the bones and joints as the elephant walks, allowing it to move quietly despite its size. The fat pad also plays a role in thermoregulation, helping to keep the foot cool in hot environments.

2011年12月22日 · Even though an elephant’s leg looks like a solid column, it actually stands on tip-toe like a horse or a dog. Its heel rests on a large pad of fat that gives it a flat-footed appearance. The...

2006年10月13日 · Vater–Pacinian corpuscles are embedded within the collagenous tissue of the cushions and within the dermis. Meissner corpuscles are found in the dermal papillae of the foot skin. The micromorphology of elephant feet cushions resembles that of digital cushions in cattle or of the foot pads in humans but not that of digital cushions in horses.

2011年12月23日 · Elephants similarly have expanded structures in the fat pads of their fore- and hindfeet, but for three centuries these have been overlooked as mere cartilaginous curiosities. We show that these are indeed massive sesamoids that employ a patchy mode of ossification of a massive cartilaginous precursor and that the predigits act functionally ...

2007年1月1日 · Similarly, elephants can also walk on the waterside or desert sand thanks to their fat pads (Weissengruber et al., 2006), which have viscoelastic properties and enable them to absorb shocks...