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Organism adapted specifically to run

A cursorial organism is one that is adapted specifically to run. An animal can be considered cursorial if it has the ability to run fast (e. g. cheetah) or if it can keep a constant speed for a long distance (high endurance). "Cursorial" is often used to categorize a certain locomotor mode, which is helpful for biologists who examine behaviors of different animals and the way they move in their environment. Cursorial adaptations can be identified by morphological characteristics (e. g. loss of lateral digits as in ungulate species), physiological characteristics, maximum speed, and how often running is used in life. There is much debate over how to define a cursorial animal specifically. The most accepted definitions include that a cursorial organism could be considered adapted to long distance running at high speeds or has the ability to accelerate quickly over short distances. Among vertebrates, animals under 1 kg of mass are rarely considered cursorial, and cursorial behaviors and morphology are thought to only occur at relatively large body masses in mammals. There are a few mammals that have been termed "micro cursors" that are less than 1 kg in mass and have the ability to run faster than other small animals of similar sizes. Some species of spiders are also considered cursorial, as they walk much of the day, looking for prey.

Several notable taxa are cursorial, including some mammals (such as wolverines and wolves, ungulates, agoutis, and kangaroos) , as well as some dinosaurs (such as theropods, including birds like the ostrich). Several extinct archosaurs were also cursorial, including the crocodylomorphs Pristichampsus, Hesperosuchus, and several genera within Notosuchia. Jumping spiders and other non web based spiders generally walk throughout the day, so that they maximize their chances of a catch, and web based spiders run away if threatened. Many Blattodea have very sensitive cursorial legs, that can be so specialized they run away at the puff of wind, such as the American cockroach.

The presumed cursorial nature of theropod dinosaurs is an important part of the ground up theory of the evolution of bird flight (also called the Cursorial theory), a theory that contrasts with the idea that birds' pre flight ancestors were arboreal species and puts forth that the flight apparatus may have been adapted to improve hunting by lengthening leaps and improving maneuverability.