Anatomically speaking, what is it called when an animals leg (ie. cat, dog, etc) has three sections?
The leg itself doesn’t have a name as far as I know, but the manner of walking is called “digitigrade,” meaning “on the toes.” The “backwards knee” is homologous with our ankle. The next segment has several bones called tarsals which extend down to the toes. (Our foot, likewise, has these tarsals; theirs are simply longer than ours.) Most mammals, birds, and reptiles are digitigrade; for example the very large group ungulates (hooved animals) and feliform carnivores (cats, hyenas, civets). Our manner of walking, on the other hand, is called “plantigrade.” Primates, rodents, marsupials, and most caniform carnivores (bears, skunks, raccoons, weasels) are plantigrade.
