Movement is a fundamental characteristic of living organisms. Both animals and plants exhibit a wide range of movements. For instance, in unicellular organisms like Amoeba, movement is observed as the streaming of protoplasm. Various other organisms display movement through structures such as cilia, flagella, and tentacles. Human beings can move their limbs, jaws, eyelids, tongue, and more. Some movements result in a change of location or place, known as locomotion. Walking, running, climbing, flying, and swimming are all forms of locomotory movements.

Locomotory structures often overlap with those involved in other types of movements. For example:

1.Paramoecium: Uses cilia for both moving food through the cytopharynx and for locomotion.

2.Hydra: Uses tentacles to capture prey and for locomotion.

3.Humans: Use limbs for both changing body postures and locomotion.

These observations indicate that movements and locomotion are interconnected; while all locomotions are movements, not all movements result in locomotion.

Purpose of Locomotion

Animals perform locomotion for various reasons, which can include: