High-G Brachiator Concept - Revised

Primitve 3D model for an organism with a biomechanical load-bearing and locomotory architecture relying on leverage rather than raw power for its mobility in high-g environments--duplicate limb segments act as mechanical force multipliers. I have no idea if this premise is remotely plausible from an engineering perspective, but I do like the way it looks and "feels," yielding creatures with limbs so overengineered and complexified that they appear almost like living cranes and earthmoving machines. Heavy metal dinosaurs on steroids!

I had two body designs in mind--bipeds and tripeds. This design is actually closer to a triped, but with the hind leg omitted for clarity. I envisioned a very sinuous, slinking movement cycle: from a balanced squatting position with a low center of gravity, one limb carefully extends ahead, then the opposite (and rear, if applicable) limb smoothly unfolds and the body slides forward as if along a series of rails. The rippling blocks of wedged, angular muscle would make for an unsettling contrast with the graceful, almost delicate movements of the massive animal.

Although this idea emerged independently, I was thinking that such high-g organisms may be the ancestors of (or at least gene donors to) the xeno-/crypto-crurids [link] with their complexified, multi-jointed legs. It might explain how the "-crurids" ended up with (what appear from a terrestrial/anthro perspective) such needlessly redundant and overengineered limb designs, and why they can function effectively in standard-gravity environments despite their superficially gracile appearance--they are "deceptively fragile-looking."

This design could also obviously become a mech with only very minor, cosmetic modifications. And perhaps the Myorine Corps will study and duplicate the limb mechanics for high-gravity soldier designs--or simply steal the Brachiators' genes!

* EDIT: Changed the main image file--I modified the "inside" leg articulation of both limbs, adding another segment to allow for full limb extension. See the original version here: [link] *