Sunday 21 February 2021

What To Do With Your Six Limbs

As a generalization, quadrupeds evolve into bipeds and hexapods into quadrupeds but there are other possibilities.

In The Technic History
Wodenites
Donarrians
Ferrans
Gorzuni (see combox)
Diomedeans (wings, arms and legs)

a centauroid
a being with wings, arms and legs
 
In After Doomsday
 
In Three Worlds To Conquer
Jovians
 
In Fire Time
Ishtarians
 
In "Horse Trader"
a centauroid
 
In ERB's John Carter Series
green Martians
 
IIRC, green Martians can use their middle set of limbs as either arms or legs. So could they charge into battle like centaurs? They are never described as doing that. Can Anderson's Ferrans do likewise?

4 comments:

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul!

The impression I got of a Ferran like Rovian, in THE REBEL WORLDS, was that he was a biped with four arms, like the Gorzuni. So I would not expect him to use his middle limbs like legs.

Ad astra! Sean

S.M. Stirling said...

At a guess, green Martians would walk at stoop, and have very flexible spines — not too difficult under the lower Martian gravity. Note that Barsoom has animals with 4, 6 and 8 limbs...

paulshackley2017@gmail.com said...

Sean,
I should have included the Gorzuni on my list.

Mr Stirling,
Yes. Green Martians are always shown as upright but this would give no opportunity for the middle limbs to be used sometimes as legs.

Paul.

Sean M. Brooks said...

Kaor, Paul and Mr. Stirling!

Paul: There is so much to be found in the Technic stories that it is easy to miss something!

Mr. Stirling: If Barsoom had been REAL, I would feel forced to think evolution had gone berserk there! But I like that point you made about the Green Martians possibly having very flexible spines.

Ad astra! Sean