Why don`t animals have wheels?

Originally posted by Grifter81
reply to post by dr treg

 

Surely a wheel of any kind has to rotate freely upon an axle of some kind. Therefore it would have to be a separate entity to whatever life form incorporated it. No tether, no blood vessels, a freely rotating object on an axle.

What about roller wheels/castors? Ball bearings in a captive socket have no axle.

I thought it would be logical that mammals could not have wheels as I'd imagine it would be physiologically impossible. But maybe I read the post wrong.

I mean considering we were given legs (other than serpents), it would be unnecessary.

reply to post by nerbot


Very true! But can you fathom a way of doing that in a closed living system while also supplying it with blood to carry the oxygen it will need to power any kind of locomotion?

If you think about it insect legs actually move in a circular .motion. So do insect wings. The only real difference is they need more legs than wheels to make it work.

Given a sufficiently large, fertile and enduring environment where wheels could facilitate travel, I think symbiotic relationships could evolve in which one species acts as wheels attached to the feet of another species. The environment would need to resemble smooth, hard roadways, connecting food to other resources. Propulsion could be accomplished in the manner of roller skating. Overcrowding of these natural roadways would limit proliferation of such beings until they learn to cooperate and observe traffic rules.

This has not happened on Earth because of the lack of natural roadways. Wheels have no survival value in any natural environment on Earth, except perhaps on salt flats, which are lacking in other resources. Even salt flats are periodically flooded, turning them into temporary bogs where wheels are useless.

Originally posted by dr treg
Trouble is there are body organs which do not have blood vessels and nerves to sustain them.

And those are which?

I bet when we can make vehicles that have legs and control systems that work as well as insects we will instantly realize how constricting wheels are.

Even "parking" with legs would make a huge difference. Try solving that parking problem as well with wheels.. it's nearly impossible. Look how long we have been using wheels and haven't really solved it even with those computer controlled systems. Nowhere near as effective as legs that can just move sideways.

Well, of course, there's the real issue.

If my grandmother had wheels, she'd be a wagon.

reply to post by eNumbra


Hair?

reply to post by dr treg


Hair is not an organ.

reply to post by schuyler

I like your reference to ball joints and the need for flat terrain to justify wheels.

Good points.

I think the eyeballs are another interesting body part, but they don't spin around.

reply to post by dr treg

Trouble is there are body organs which do not have blood vessels and nerves to sustain them.

Didn't do too well in biology class, I take it.

ok - epithelium (avascular but innervated)

reply to post by dr treg


Because a wheel cant climb a tree or a rock face.

reply to post by dr treg


Because Apple has the patent!

Because they need to be bolted on like this: