# Has Any Species Adapted th Travel by Rolling? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 27, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158 "2009-01-27T00:43:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/1 "2009-01-27T00:43:50Z")
Except 9of course) the tumbleweeds. Rolling would seem to be a good way to get around-fast and low energy consumption. Any takers? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/2 "2009-01-27T00:46:11Z")
Rolling can require an axle. There is no example of such a wheel in nature\*. As for rolling your ownself cross-country, I suppose it is just too dizzying. \*OK some joints, but that is about it. ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/3 "2009-01-27T00:46:40Z")
[Giant amoebas](http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/2374/giant-grape-amoebas-found-rolling-seafloor). ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/4 "2009-01-27T00:51:58Z")
There’s the infamous [cartwheeling spider](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4odlo0Afjs). ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/5 "2009-01-27T00:53:31Z")
The hoop snake; [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouroboros](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouroboros) ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/6 "2009-01-27T00:59:27Z")
My cat does front somersaults. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/7 "2009-01-27T01:29:13Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Rolling would seem to be a good way to get around-fast and low energy consumption. Yeah, if you only had to go downhill or downwind. But at some point one must be able to travel uphill, so there needs to be a mechanism for that - and having something to facilitate rolling in addition to whatever gets one uphill would use up some resources and add complexity. More to be lost than gained, I’d say. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/8 "2009-01-27T02:07:49Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > There’s the infamous [cartwheeling spider](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4odlo0Afjs). That’s real, right? I was sure it was gonna be a spoof, but it looks real. Remarkable! And rolling doesn’t require an axle (I’m not sure how “can” can modify “require”). Otherwise, nobody can ever roll a ball. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/9 "2009-01-27T02:08:58Z")
I’m certain I saw a documentary featuring a small lizard that did something similar. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/10 "2009-01-27T02:11:18Z")
I also found sketchy descriptions of the Venezuelan Pebble Toad which rolls downhill to escape from predators - might be apocryphal though. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/11 "2009-01-27T02:15:27Z")
:smack: > **[Terrestrial locomotion | Rolling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrestrial_locomotion#Rolling)** ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/12 "2009-01-27T02:18:28Z")
> [@Paul in Saudi](#): > > Rolling can require an axle. There is no example of such a wheel in nature\*. I believe there are some, but they are only in microscopic-sized organisms. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/13 "2009-01-27T02:23:05Z")
The Master speaks: [Cecil Adams: Why has no animal species ever evolved wheels?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/1151/why-has-no-animal-species-ever-evolved-wheels) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/14 "2009-01-27T02:24:18Z")
Those Irish-sounding pacifist quasi-lemurs in the most recent _Clone Wars_ episode. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/15 "2009-01-27T02:32:35Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > There’s the infamous [cartwheeling spider](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4odlo0Afjs). This was the first thing that popped into my head, especially since I just read about that recently, right here on the SDMB! [Rolling spider thread 1](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=503333) (Ohh, I’m so punny.) [Rolling spider thread 2](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=503613) EDIT: actually, I’m not sure, but that Youtube video may be talking about a different kind of spider. That one only seems to roll downhill as a means of escape, while the spider recently discovered by Professor Rechenberg uses it as a form of locomotion even across flat ground. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/16 "2009-01-27T04:09:57Z")
The Escherian [Treppenhaus](http://www.expo-shop.com/2_2.cfm?cfid=40973&cftoken=36712783&id=-934702956)? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/17 "2009-01-27T04:29:54Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > I believe there are some, but they are only in microscopic-sized organisms. You are probably thinking of [rotifers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotifer), or “wheel animalcules.” They don’t actually have wheel-like structures; the appearance of spinning is due to the motion of cilia. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/18 "2009-01-27T04:42:46Z")
How about Mic, Keith and the boys? ---
**Author:** ![Sevastopol](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cdc98d/32.png) [@Sevastopol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sevastopol)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 10:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/19 "2009-01-27T10:01:08Z")
The Dung Beetle. It shapes the dung into a ball and rolls it where it’s going. The rolling dung sometimes carries some of the beetle’s own weight. When it doesn’t the beetle is nonetheless benefiting from rolling motion. ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2009, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158/20 "2009-01-27T10:18:44Z")
[Sheep](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3938591.stm) (seriously) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-any-species-adapted-th-travel-by-rolling/483158.md?page=2)