Limitless limbs

The limbs of some animals are similar to ours, while others are strikingly different, allowing their owners to master their diving, excavating, parachuting, running, flying, and walking long distance skills. Scientists, studying the structure and evolution of legs, arms, fins, and wings, were the first to come to the conclusion that all vertebrates descended from a common ancestor, and their limbs have a common structure. 

See it with your own eyes at the exhibition "Limitless limbs" in the Darwin Museum. We will show you what "previous versions" or human limbs, as well as the limbs of ancient lizards, looked like. Find out what do the legs of an ostrich, paws of a cat, and hooves of a pig have in common and whether vertebrates have always had five toes.

Do you know how much weight one finger/toe can lift? The one of a horse - over 300 kg! You can say that horses have no fingers, but a horse's hoof is nothing more than a modified middle toe changed in the process of evolution. This “engineering solution”, according to the latest research, significantly reduces the chance of injury to the joints and saves energy.

If you look at the skeleton of the elephant's front leg, you will uncover the main secret of elephants - these giant animals actually move on their tiptoes, almost like ballerinas! Although they do have a little trick - a dense cartilaginous cushion under their toes allowing them to walk safely. By the way, representatives of the feline and canine families also walk on the toes, with a small but significant difference - their paws have soft pads that allow them to hunt silently, soften the landing when jumping, and serve as brakes.