Whisker touch sensing guides locomotion in small, quadrupedal mammals

All small mammals have prominent facial whiskers that they employ as tactile sensors to guide navigation and foraging in complex habitats. Nocturnal, arboreal mammals tend to have the longest and most densely-packed whiskers, and semi-aquatic mammals have the most sensitive. Here we present evidence to indicate that many small mammals use their whiskers to tactually guide safe foot positioning. Specifically, in eleven, small, non-flying mammal species we demonstrate that forepaw placement always falls within the ground contact zone of the whisker field, and that forepaw width is always smaller than whisker span. We also demonstrate commonalities of whisker scanning movements (whisking) and elements of active control, associated with increasing contact with objects of interest, across multiple small mammal species that have previously only been shown in common laboratory animals. Overall, we propose that guiding locomotion, alongside environment exploration, is a common function of whisk...所有小型哺乳动物均具有发达的面部触须（whisker），并将其作为触觉传感器，用于在复杂生境中指引导航与觅食活动。夜行性树栖哺乳动物的触须通常最长且排布最为致密，而半水生哺乳动物的触须则最为灵敏。本研究提供证据表明，诸多小型哺乳动物可借助触须以触觉引导足部实现安全定位。具体而言，针对11种小型非飞行哺乳动物的研究证实，其前爪落点始终处于触须区域的地面接触范围内，且前爪宽度始终小于触须跨度。此外，本研究还证实，此前仅在常见实验动物中被观测到的触须扫描运动（whisking）与主动控制相关要素，在多种小型哺乳动物中存在共性，且这类要素与目标物体接触频次的增加存在关联。综上，我们提出，除环境探索外，引导运动亦是触须的一项通用功能。