Of all the forms of locomotion evolved by all of the known animal species (prehistoric and present-day) on planet Earth (swimming, crawling, hopping, etc.), none have yet evolved a “biological wheel”.
By the term “biological wheel”, I don’t mean animals who roll themselves into a ball and then roll down a hill.
I’m thinking of something more complex, perhaps like something in a socket like a leg or arm (or something to that effect.)
What kind of “biological mechanism” would have to be evolved in order for an animal to have wheels as a part of their natural physiology?
Anatomically, how could such a physical body part work?
Just because it hasn’t appeared in nature doesn’t mean that it’s impossible, does it?
I think that it would be really neat to speculate on how something like this would work!
I read a book years ago where the main character was a genius geneticist who designed custom critters. One of them had wheels. No Axle, just pegs on the main torso. The lubricant for the hub doubled as a nutrient for the wheel portion. I don’t think the author addressed the issue of tactile feedback from the wheel to the body.
