Webbed feet facts for kids

The feet of a gull showing webbed toes.

Webbed toes is the common name for syndactyly. Webbed feet happens when two or more toes grow together instead of separately. This is common in many birds such as ducks. It is also common in amphibians such as frogs and mammals such as kangaroos. In humans, it is not normal. It only happens to 3-10 in 10,000 live births.

Images for kids

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  Webbed foot of a mute swan. Here, the delta (triangular) shape of the foot is clearly visible. This shape allows for the formation of leading edge vortices and lift-based propulsion during swimming.

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  The webbed foot of Rana temporaria, the common frog. Here, the foot has a delta (triangular) shape that allows for the formation of leading edge vortices and likely increases swimming efficiency.

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  Bats have also developed interdigital webbing for flight. Reductions in the BMP-induced apoptosis likely allowed this trait to arise.

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  A phylogenetic tree of vertebrate taxa. The classes highlighted in red contain species with webbed feet. In all these cases, webbed feet arose homologously and independently of other classes through convergent evolution.

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  Webbing and lobation in a bird's right foot

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  Platypus foot