• Cross-species gait mechanics and limb coordination reveal conserved principles and diverse repertoires, from insect tripod walking to upright postures in marsupials and primates, illustrating how neural control shapes timing and stability across speed ranges [4], [2], [5], [3], [16], [1].

• Energetics and mechanical work emerge as unifying drivers of locomotion, with measurements of external work, energy storage, and metabolic cost spanning dogs, kangaroos, and fish, linking gait selection to performance limits [17], [10], [19], [18], [7].

• Neural control and proprioceptive feedback underpin adaptive walking, evidenced by cockroach leg reflexes and intersegmental coordination, cat hindlimb joint dynamics, and primate shoulder-girdle organization, revealing shared strategies for motion planning and stability [2], [4], [1], [8], [16].

• Posture, body size, and morphological constraints shape locomotor strategies, as demonstrated by noncursorial marsupials, quadrupedal scaling laws, and ungulate speed-power tradeoffs across species [3], [6], [20].