Latest news with #JournalofMorphology
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
The tree‑climbing amphibian with a blood‑powered grip
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Name: Wandering salamander (Aneides vagrans) Where it lives: Coastal redwood forests of North America What it eats: Insects, spiders, small arthropods, and snails Why it's awesome: The wandering salamander isn't an average amphibian. Instead of skulking under logs or swimming in swamps, it lives an arboreal lifestyle. Native to the redwood forests, these amphibians spend most of their lives in trees, residing in the deep bark fissures and devouring insects. With their homes over 300 feet (90 meters) off the ground, wandering salamanders glide across trees for resources and foraging, so they need a veritable grip during landing — if not, they could plummet to the forest floor. To stay safe, wandering salamanders possess a unique gliding mechanism: 18 blood-powered toes. These specialized appendages are key to the salamander's precise leaping and landing through the complex canopy. According to a study published in the Journal of Morphology, the wandering salamander controls its grip on the tree bark by pumping and draining blood in the tips of their square-shaped toes. Scientists had previously theorized that the bright blood flow beneath their translucent skin helped keep their feet oxygenated. However, no empirical evidence backed this claim. While using high-resolution video trials, biologists led by Christian Brown, a researcher at Washington State University, discovered that wandering salamanders can finely control the blood flow to each side of the toe tip asymmetrically, to increase or decrease the contact area with the surface. When the salamander prepares to jump over branches, it quickly fills the toe tip with blood. The increased blood pressure helps salamanders to detach from the tree, as the blood influx increases the pressure and causes the toe pads to expand momentarily. This slight lift reduces the contact area, making it easier to detach from the surface. RELATED STORIES —Plains viscacha: A rodent that builds vast underground cities and ovulates more than any other mammal —Dracula parrot: The goth bird whose piercing screams echo through New Guinea forests —Northern giant mouse lemur: The bug-eyed fluff ball with the biggest testicles of all known primates Equally vital is the reverse process; wandering salamanders swiftly drain the blood from their toe tips when they land. This softens the toes and increases surface contact, allowing them to conform better to the irregular and rough texture, providing a more secure and effective grip that prevents the salamander from slipping. They regulate the pressure dynamically depending on whether they're stepping, gripping, or releasing. "If you're climbing a redwood and have 18 toes gripping bark, being able to detach efficiently without damaging your toe tips makes a huge difference," Brown said in a statement.
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
The unusual feature that helps salamanders glide over the world's tallest trees
Slippery salamanders glide mysteriously through the canopies of the world's tallest trees. Now, scientists say they understand how the small skydivers are able to maneuver seamlessly across California's coastal redwoods. The answer might be surprising. Wandering salamanders can fill, trap, and drain the blood in their toe tips to help them easily attach and detach to the bark of the trees. Christian Brown, the lead author of new and related research and an integrative physiology and neuroscience postdoctoral researcher at Washington State University, first noticed it during filming for the NBC documentary The Americas. Bright red blood rushed to the creatures' translucent, square-shaped toe tips before they took a step forward. 'We looked at each other like, 'Did you see that?'' Brown said in a statement. The university-led findings were published Wednesday in the Journal of Morphology. Using camera equipment from the production, high-resolution video helped the researchers to analyze the mechanism. Regulating blood flow, the authors said, allows the long-legged wandering salamanders to adjust pressure asymmetrically. Blood rushing in before the 'toe off' helps them to detach. And, by inflating the toe tip, the salamanders reduce the surface area in contact with the one they are on. That minimizes the energy they need to let go and parachute between branches. Flying squirrels, gliding frogs, geckos, ants and other insects are known to use similar aerial maneuvers, according to researchers at U.C. Berkeley. 'What struck me when I first saw the videos is that they (the salamanders) are so smooth — there's no discontinuity or noise in their motions, they're just totally surfing in the air,' Robert Dudley, a professor of integrative biology at the university, said in 2022. Brown and Dudley worked together on a previous paper that described their movement and how they can control falls from hundreds of feet in the air. Previously, the feature was believed to aid the wandering salamander's oxygenation, but the researchers said there was no evidence to support that theory. Similar structures are found in other salamander species that might serve other purposes. More research is needed to understand how it works to serve those species in their habitats. 'This could redefine our understanding of how salamanders move across diverse habitats,' Brown said.
The Independent
29-01-2025
- Science
- The Independent
The unusual feature that helps salamanders glide over the world's tallest trees
Slippery salamanders glide mysteriously through the canopies of the world's tallest trees. Now, scientists say they understand how the small skydivers are able to maneuver seamlessly across California's coastal redwoods. The answer might be surprising. Wandering salamanders can fill, trap, and drain the blood in their toe tips to help them easily attach and detach to the bark of the trees. Christian Brown, the lead author of new and related research and an integrative physiology and neuroscience postdoctoral researcher at Washington State University, first noticed it during filming for the NBC documentary The Americas. Bright red blood rushed to the creatures' translucent, square-shaped toe tips before they took a step forward. 'We looked at each other like, 'Did you see that?'' Brown said in a statement. The university-led findings were published Wednesday in the Journal of Morphology. Using camera equipment from the production, high-resolution video helped the researchers to analyze the mechanism. Regulating blood flow, the authors said, allows the long-legged wandering salamanders to adjust pressure asymmetrically. Blood rushing in before the 'toe off' helps them to detach. And, by inflating the toe tip, the salamanders reduce the surface area in contact with the one they are on. That minimizes the energy they need to let go and parachute between branches. Flying squirrels, gliding frogs, geckos, ants and other insects are known to use similar aerial maneuvers, according to researchers at U.C. Berkeley. 'What struck me when I first saw the videos is that they (the salamanders) are so smooth — there's no discontinuity or noise in their motions, they're just totally surfing in the air,' Robert Dudley, a professor of integrative biology at the university, said in 2022. Brown and Dudley worked together on a previous paper that described their movement and how they can control falls from hundreds of feet in the air. Previously, the feature was believed to aid the wandering salamander's oxygenation, but the researchers said there was no evidence to support that theory. Similar structures are found in other salamander species that might serve other purposes. More research is needed to understand how it works to serve those species in their habitats. 'This could redefine our understanding of how salamanders move across diverse habitats,' Brown said.
