Lacking skin flaps or sails, the amphibians slow their descent as a parachuter would—holding up their chests and stretching out their limbs in an exaggerated starfish pose
a miniature wind tunnel box to simulate the salamanders’ freefall, sort of like an indoor amphibian skydiving gym.one by oneinto the wind tunnel. For each experiment, the team recorded the animal’s movements with slow-motion video. Then they repeated the experiment with five individuals from each of three other North American salamander species that spend varying amounts of time in trees.
In over half the trials, wandering salamanders also undulated their tails to make course corrections. Sometimes they banked their turns, tucking in one leg and pivoting around it mid-flight. These efforts gave wandering salamanders precise control over their descent and slowed their speed by around 10 percent.
The team found the other salamander species in their experiments also parachuted, but that the behavior was rarer in amphibians that spend less time in trees. The Monterey ensatina, which resides on the ground, parachuted in only three out of 45 trials.
Norge Siste Nytt, Norge Overskrifter
Similar News:Du kan også lese nyheter som ligner på denne som vi har samlet inn fra andre nyhetskilder.
Watch salamanders ‘skydive’ in a wind tunnelFor a controlled descent in redwood trees, these salamanders pose like pros
Les mer »
Watch salamanders 'skydive' in a miniature wind tunnelWhat happens when you put salamanders in a wind tunnel? They stretch their limbs out like a human skydiver, a position they take in the wild to slow their descent when jumping out of trees
Les mer »
This Great Dane In Texas Was Named World’s Tallest Dog By GuinnessThe 2-year-old pup eats 12 cups of dog food a day!
Les mer »
Is the world’s oldest tree growing in a ravine in Chile?A tree known as the Alerce Milenario, located in Chile’s Alerce Costero National Park, is more than 5000 years old, one researcher estimates.
Les mer »