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Spider leg biomechanics as an information filter for vibration sensing.

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Title: Spider leg biomechanics as an information filter for vibration sensing.
Authors: Miller, Thomas1 (AUTHOR) thomas.miller@biology.ox.ac.uk, Rogers, Stephen1 (AUTHOR) steve.rogers@biology.ox.ac.uk, Wu, Jun1,2 (AUTHOR) 15000861487@163.com; jun.wu@biology.ox.ac.uk, Cicirello, Alice3 (AUTHOR) ac685@cam.ac.uk, Taylor, Graham Keith1 (AUTHOR) graham.taylor@biology.ox.ac.uk, Mortimer, Beth1 (AUTHOR) beth.mortimer@biology.ox.ac.uk
Source: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 6/17/2026, Vol. 293 Issue 2073, p1-10. 10p.
Subjects: Signal-to-noise ratio, Tarantulas, Laser Doppler vibrometer, Acoustic vibrations, Mechanoreceptors, Vibration tests
Abstract: Substrate-borne vibration sensing is an important sensory modality in arthropods, which use externally generated vibration sources to gather information about their environment. Vibrations are subject to mechanical filtering by the legs and body, which implicates a role for morphology in modulating information flow due to the distributed and embedded nature of arthropod mechanosensors. A general problem with sensing is the separation of signal from noise. While internally generated vibrations can be useful for proprioception, they potentially obscure the small displacements generated by substrate vibrations for exteroception. Here, we use a laser vibrometry dataset quantifying the dynamic response of the tarantula Grammostola pulchra to vibrational input at 50 points across its legs and body to examine relative motion in a single axis, enabling us to infer leg biomechanics and test whether these behave rigidly as vibrations are transmitted through the body. We show that the non-rigid legs may dampen large-amplitude motion from cephalothorax/abdomen resonance—increasing signal-to-noise ratio for exteroception at their distal ends. These properties may also act to increase the robustness of vibration sensing to variation in morphological traits affecting the spider's dynamics. As spider body plans are conserved, we argue the results are generalizable across the mechanosensitive Araneae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences is the property of Royal Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Engineering Source
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DbLabel: Engineering Source
An: 194614000
AccessLevel: 6
PubType: Academic Journal
PubTypeId: academicJournal
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  Data: Spider leg biomechanics as an information filter for vibration sensing.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Miller%2C+Thomas%22">Miller, Thomas</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> thomas.miller@biology.ox.ac.uk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rogers%2C+Stephen%22">Rogers, Stephen</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> steve.rogers@biology.ox.ac.uk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Wu%2C+Jun%22">Wu, Jun</searchLink><relatesTo>1,2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> 15000861487@163.com; jun.wu@biology.ox.ac.uk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Cicirello%2C+Alice%22">Cicirello, Alice</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> ac685@cam.ac.uk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Taylor%2C+Graham+Keith%22">Taylor, Graham Keith</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> graham.taylor@biology.ox.ac.uk</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Mortimer%2C+Beth%22">Mortimer, Beth</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> beth.mortimer@biology.ox.ac.uk</i>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Proceedings+of+the+Royal+Society+B%3A+Biological+Sciences%22">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</searchLink>. 6/17/2026, Vol. 293 Issue 2073, p1-10. 10p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Signal-to-noise+ratio%22">Signal-to-noise ratio</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Tarantulas%22">Tarantulas</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Laser+Doppler+vibrometer%22">Laser Doppler vibrometer</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Acoustic+vibrations%22">Acoustic vibrations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mechanoreceptors%22">Mechanoreceptors</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Vibration+tests%22">Vibration tests</searchLink>
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  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Substrate-borne vibration sensing is an important sensory modality in arthropods, which use externally generated vibration sources to gather information about their environment. Vibrations are subject to mechanical filtering by the legs and body, which implicates a role for morphology in modulating information flow due to the distributed and embedded nature of arthropod mechanosensors. A general problem with sensing is the separation of signal from noise. While internally generated vibrations can be useful for proprioception, they potentially obscure the small displacements generated by substrate vibrations for exteroception. Here, we use a laser vibrometry dataset quantifying the dynamic response of the tarantula Grammostola pulchra to vibrational input at 50 points across its legs and body to examine relative motion in a single axis, enabling us to infer leg biomechanics and test whether these behave rigidly as vibrations are transmitted through the body. We show that the non-rigid legs may dampen large-amplitude motion from cephalothorax/abdomen resonance—increasing signal-to-noise ratio for exteroception at their distal ends. These properties may also act to increase the robustness of vibration sensing to variation in morphological traits affecting the spider's dynamics. As spider body plans are conserved, we argue the results are generalizable across the mechanosensitive Araneae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences is the property of Royal Society and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1098/rspb.2026.0915
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Signal-to-noise ratio
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Tarantulas
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Laser Doppler vibrometer
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      – SubjectFull: Acoustic vibrations
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      – SubjectFull: Mechanoreceptors
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Vibration tests
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Spider leg biomechanics as an information filter for vibration sensing.
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            NameFull: Miller, Thomas
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            NameFull: Rogers, Stephen
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              M: 06
              Text: 6/17/2026
              Type: published
              Y: 2026
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              Value: 293
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              Value: 2073
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