#fat distribution

For example where would I distribute fat on a creature built for endurance flight and short distance sprints? Would storing fat in the tail create drag and slow them down? Would it be better to store the fat mostly in the upper torso?

It is remarkably difficult to look this up, even when using specific animals, without just getting my search results bombarded by articles on how to lose body fat or science discovering new ways to burn off fat.

I know i have read some interesting facts about this sort of thing before, but I am now having a lot of trouble finding an article that explains it again. So I will try to go off memory here.

Fat comes in different forms depending on uts purpose. There is fat that acts as insulation and padding, like the big belly fat you see on heavyweight lifters, and there is fat that provides energy to the muscles (these are not the only types of fat, but it's a simple enough explanation for your question)

For long distance flight and short distance running, I think there will be some muscle-related fat around the legs to provide more direct energy, and some fat evenly distributed aorund the torso to sustain long flights.

Keeping in mind also, a flying creature or person will probably not gain and keep as much fat as a non-flying one, because flight is a very energy draining activity that requires as light a body as possible. This is why we see, like, 5 foot tall shoebill storks that weigh 12 pounds.

Long distance flight can be made pretty energy efficient though. Albatrosses, for example, can fly extremely long distances without coming down to rest. Their wings are built for soaring with very little flapping motion.

I don't know if you're using bird like wings or bat like wings, but either way I would recommend looking up the flying animals that go the longest distances without rest and studying their wing shapes!

With that also in mind, it's hard to eat in the middle of flight, so endurance flying should probably also require a good amount of internal fat storage for backup energy. Spread fairly evenly in the torso, so it doesn't mess up the weight distribution for flying.

Why thank you! My beloved roommates have started referring to me as centaur google, which I definitely feel ambivalent about! 😂

And I have talked about fat distribution a bit more here:

https://theartingace.tumblr.com/post/187807180810/how-would-a-chubby-or-fat-centaur-look-would-a

but the long and short of it is that each half gains weight in the usual way, so the human half gets the usual belly, hips, and arms ect., horses tend to hold fat on top of their hips and behind the shoulders more than the belly, though they would gain it there too! But the overall distribution of fat would be even over both halves of the body baring some unique exceptions!