News Animals

Young insect legs have real meshing gears

Tiny teeth on hiplike structures keep legs in sync

FIRST GEAR Natural cog teeth mesh on the upper curves of the rear legs of youngIssus planthoppers, the first intermeshing functional gears discovered in nature.

courtesy of Malcolm Burrows

By Susan Milius

- More than 2 years ago

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People’s proud invention of gears was preceded by mindless evolution: The tiny points on the legs of juvenile planthopper insects move like intermeshing cogs.