At the height of the canopy of California redwood forests, the wandering salamander lives, eats, and takes off. Scientists are amazed at the amphibians that make parachuting and their ability to glide effortlessly and perform complex aerial maneuvers.
A study led by researchers at the University of South Florida (USF) and the University of California at Berkeley investigated the planning skills of Aneides vagrants using a wind tunnel to capture slow-motion footage of amphibians in action. The wind tunnel simulated the conditions of falling through the air. The paper appeared in the journal Current Biology on Monday.
“They are able to turn. They are able to turn if they go upside down. They are able to maintain this parachuting posture and pump their tails up and down to make horizontal maneuvers,” said the USF biologist and lead author. , Christian. Brown said Monday in a statement from UC Berkeley. “The level of control is impressive.”
The research team compared stray salamanders to other salamanders, including those that live on land. Ground-dwelling amphibians basically sucked in the wind tunnel experiment. Brown said they were “gliding in the wind tunnel and scared.” In comparison, A. vagrans was comfortable and skillful in the air.
Biologists climb trees to study animals, and this is how they first realized the salamanders’ ability to jump and glide. It seems that wandering salamanders use their flying skills as a way to stay up in the canopy in the event of a fall or when they need to jump to avoid predators or to descend from a tree. The planning is useful considering that the creatures live 150 feet (46 meters) from the ground in imposing redwoods.
Another UC Berkeley video shows what salamanders look like when they jump.
Researchers are fascinated by how salamanders perform these aerial ballets, as amphibians look the same as other salamanders and have no obvious aerodynamic adaptations to help them parachute out. The team calls for more studies to better understand how subtle physical characteristics can play a role in skydiving.
Amphibians spend their entire lives in the canopy, and they seem to have developed an efficient and safe way to navigate their tree habitat. Show that you don’t necessarily need wings or leather flaps to be a great glider.