High up in the canopy of the California redwood forests, the wandering salamander lives, eats and soars.
Scientists are marveling at the skydiving amphibians and their ability to effortlessly glide and pull off complex aerial maneuvers.
The wind tunnel simulated the conditions of falling through the air.
Thepaper appeared in the journal Current Biologyon Monday.
“They are able to turn.
They are able to flip themselves over if they go upside down.
“The level of control is just impressive.”
The research team compared wandering salamanders with other salamanders, including ground-dwelling ones.
The ground-dwelling amphibians essentially sucked at the wind tunnel experiment.
Brown said they “just kind of hover in the wind tunnel freaking out.”
By comparison, A. vagrans was comfortable and dexterous in the air.
Another UC Berkeley videoshows what the salamanders look like when they jump.
It shows you don’t necessarily need wings or skin flaps to be a great glider.
