Mediterranean Spur-Thighed Tortoises (Testudo graeca) Have Optimal Speeds at Which They Can Minimise the Metabolic Cost of Transport, on a Treadmill

Article experimentally quantifies the metabolic cost of transport in Mediterranean spur-thighed tortoises walking on a treadmill while also quantifying the kinematics of their movement. Results found that tortoises move more efficiently than predicted and presents the first data demonstrating a curvilinear cost of transport over their speed range. The authors conclude that tortoises have an optimum speed at which they move to minimise their metabolic cost of locomotion