{{Short description|Person or creature with one foot and one leg}} {{More citations needed|date=March 2007}} A '''uniped''' (from Latin ''uni-'' "one" and ''ped-'' "foot") is a person or creature with only one foot and one leg, as contrasted with a biped (two legs) and a quadruped (four legs). Moving using only one leg is known as '''unipedal''' movement. Many bivalvia and nearly all gastropoda molluscs have evolved only one foot. Through accidents (i.e. amputation) or birth abnormalities it is also possible for an animal, including humans, to end up with only a single leg.
==In fiction and mythology== One major study of mythological unipeds is Teresa Pàroli (2009): "How many are the unipeds' feet? Their tracks in texts and sources", in ''Analecta Septentrionalia: Beiträge zur nordgermanischen Kultur- und Literaturgeschichte'', ed. by Wilhelm Heizmann, Klaus Böldl and Heinrich Beck (Berlin/London/New York: De Gruyter), pp. 281–327. * In the ''Saga of Erik the Red'', a native of Vinland who is described as being one-legged kills one of Eric's men (his brother). In the children's fiction book ''They Came on Viking Ships'' by Jackie French, a uniped is a one-legged Norse mythical creature that lived in the south of Vinland during the time of the expedition of Freydís Eiríksdóttir.<ref>Kunz 2008, p. 47.</ref> * The sciapod was another mythical one-legged humanoid. * In Japanese mythology and folklore, some ''yōkai'' such as the karakasa-obake and the ippon-datara have one leg. * In the Narnia book ''The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'' by C. S. Lewis, the heroes meet the "Dufflepuds". These are two-legged dwarfs who have been rendered one-legged by their master, a wizard. He did this to force them to use the water from the stream next to their food garden, rather than walking miles to get the water.{{Citation needed|date=March 2023}} * In Brazilian folklore, there is a mythical humanoid uniped called "Saci" who appears in several tales and is associated with dustdevils. Colombian folklore has a female version of this monster, the "Patasola". * In Mayan mythology, God K and his equivalents are represented with one leg.<ref>Freidel et al. 1993, pp. 199–200.</ref> One of these equivalents is the K'iche' Maya storm deity Huracan, whose name means "one-leg".<ref>Christenson 2003, 2007, p.60.n.62.</ref> * In the Indian epic Mahabharata, there is a mention of a Southern Indian tribe of humans named 'Ekapada' (literally 'one-footed') living, which Sahadeva conquers.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Mahabharata, Book 2: Sabha Parva: Jarasandhta-badha Parva: Section XXX|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m02/m02030.htm|access-date=2020-07-10|website=www.sacred-texts.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The Mahabharata in Sanskrit: Book 2: Chapter 28|url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/mbs/mbs02028.htm|access-date=2020-07-10|website=www.sacred-texts.com}}</ref> * In Hindu culture, there is a form of the god Shiva known as Ekapada.
==Notes== {{Reflist}}
==References== * {{cite web |author=Christenson, Allen J. |title=Popul Vuh: Sacred Book of the Quiché Maya People |url=http://www.mesoweb.com/publications/Christenson/PopolVuh.pdf |year=2007 |format=PDF online publication |work=Mesoweb articles |publisher=Mesoweb: An Exploration of Mesoamerican Cultures |access-date=2011-07-29}} * {{cite book |author=Freidel, David A. |author2=Linda Schele |author2-link=Linda Schele |author3=Joy Parker |year=1993 |title=Maya Cosmos: Three Thousand Years on the Shaman's Path|publisher=William Morrow & Co. |location=New York |isbn=0-688-10081-3 |oclc=27430287}} * {{cite book |author=Kunz, Keneva, trans. |title=The Vinland Sagas: The Icelandic Sagas About the First Documented Voyages Across the North Atlantic |year=2008 |location=London|publisher=Penguin|isbn=978-0-140-44776-7}}
{{locomotion}}
Category:Terrestrial locomotion Pedalism