The arctic fox is able to move because of their skeletal system, muscular system, and nervous system. Mammals need to move in order to survive. They move to find food, find habitable conditions, to escape predators, and to explore. The arctic fox moves on all four legs and although they are short, they move very stealthily. They have very thick fur on their paws which allows them to on both ice and snow. They are able to run at about 30 mph and can skid on ice as well.
There are three types of muscles; skeletal, smooth, and cardiac. The skeletal muscles are attached to the bone by tendons which allows them to pull on the bone, which acts like a lever. The smooth muscles are in the lungs, veins, and arteries. The cardiac muscles are found in the heart and they contract automatically to squeeze the walls of the heart inward. If the fox lifts its leg, their bones are attached via tendons which allows them to pull on the bone, which lifts the leg up. One muscle pulls the bone in one direction and the other pulls it in the opposite direction – causing movement at the joint.
Arctic foxes have five sense organs which are:
Neurones are a significant part of the nervous system. There are three types of neurones which are the sensory neurones, relay neurones, and the motor neurones. The sensory neurones controls all of the body’s stimuli. The relay neurone helps the brain and spinal cord function and the motor neurone helps both glands and muscles function. For example, if the arctic fox places a paw on something extremely hot the pain receptors in the paw are stimulated. The message then travels along the sensory neurone and the message reaches the spine. The message then leaves the spine and the relay neurone sends a message to the muscle telling it to move. The motor neurone in the fox’s leg then sends the message that the fox needs to pull their leg away.
- Eyes
- Ears
- Nose
- Tongue
- Skin
Neurones are a significant part of the nervous system. There are three types of neurones which are the sensory neurones, relay neurones, and the motor neurones. The sensory neurones controls all of the body’s stimuli. The relay neurone helps the brain and spinal cord function and the motor neurone helps both glands and muscles function. For example, if the arctic fox places a paw on something extremely hot the pain receptors in the paw are stimulated. The message then travels along the sensory neurone and the message reaches the spine. The message then leaves the spine and the relay neurone sends a message to the muscle telling it to move. The motor neurone in the fox’s leg then sends the message that the fox needs to pull their leg away.