What sort of selection pressure decides that jumping is good for species survival while running isn’t? Isn’t quadruped running just all around more energy efficient?
In: Biology
Powerful hind limbs for leaping make for effective rapid evasion. A rabbit sitting nibbling some grass can rapidly leap out of the way when a predator attacks, increasing its odds of evading attack. Since a rabbit isn’t exactly walking long distances to eat most of the time, efficiency of movement is not important. Since rabbits are dinner for lots of animals, speed and evasion is very important. So rabbits maximize for speed and evasion.
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