... performance (distance and maximum height) can be predicted from the launch angle and speed at take-off using simple ballistic projectile equations. However, for small creatures, the restrictive effect of air resistance on the aerial trajectory becomes increasingly more significant as the body size...

...R. Hustert; M. Baldus SUMMARY Ballistic accelerations of a limb or the whole body require special joint mechanisms in many animals. Specialized joints can be moved by stereotypic or variable motor control during motor patterns with and without ballistic components. As a model of variable motor...