page_title: Role of skin in locomotion
section_title: Soft bodied locomotion in invertebrates
hierarchical_section_title: Role of skin in locomotion / Soft bodied locomotion in invertebrates
caption_attribution_description: English: Octopus vulgaris Common Octopus - L'Aquarium de Barcelona Suomi: Meritursas (Octopus vulgaris) - L'Aquarium de Barcelona
context_page_description: Role of skin in locomotion describes how the integumentary system is involved in locomotion. Typically the integumentary system can be thought of as skin, however the integumentary system also includes the segmented exoskeleton in arthropods and feathers of birds. The primary role of the integumentary system is to provide protection for the body. However, the structure of the skin has evolved to aid animals in their different modes of locomotion.
  Soft bodied animals such as starfish rely on the arrangement of the fibers in their tube feet for movement. Eels, snakes, and fish use their skin like an external tendon to generate the propulsive forces need for undulatory locomotion. Vertebrates that fly, glide, and parachute also have a characteristic fiber arrangements of their flight membranes that allows for the skin to maintain its structural integrity during the stress and strain experienced during flight.
context_section_description: The term "Soft Bodied" refers to animals which lack typical systems of skeletal support - included in these are most insect larvae and true worms. Animals that are soft bodied are constrained by the geometry and form of their bodies. However it is the geometry and form of their bodies that generate the forces they need to move. The structure of soft bodied skin can be characterized by a patterned fiber arrangement, which provides the shape and structure for a soft bodied animals. Internal to the patterned fiber layer is typically a liquid filled cavity, which is used to generate hydrostatic pressures for movement. Some animals that exhibit soft bodied locomotion include starfish, octopus, and flatworms.
caption: The arms of octopus are muscular hydrostats
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