GLIDING SALAMANDERS MOVE LIKE SKYDIVERS

The amphibians live high in the canopies of giant redwood trees in California

Wandering salamanders twist and turn their bodies like human skydivers to control their falls, a study carried out at the University of South Florida has found.

The behaviour was first observed by the study’s lead author Christian Brown, who noticed the animals’ unusual leaps as he was handling them while cataloguing their population in Humboldt and Del Norte counties, California.

The researchers say the animals use their skydiving skills to steer towards the branches of the giant redwoods and stay away from ground-based predators.

To further study the animals’ aerial manoeuvres, the researchers placed them and three other species of salamander into a small wind tunnel and filmed their movements using a high-speed digital camera.

They found that the wandering salamanders (Aneides vagrans) were able to maintain a stable gliding posture by moving their tails and legs in a manner similar to human skydivers, allowing them to slow the speed of their falling by up to 10 per cent.

“To observe salamanders, which are generally associated with ponds and streams, in the air is a bit unexpected in and of itself. Most surprising to us was the exquisite level of control that the more arboreal salamanders had in the vertical wind tunnel.

Wandering salamanders were especially adept and seemed to instinctively deploy skydiving postures upon first contact with the airstream,” said Brown.

“These salamanders were not only able to slow themselves down, but also used fine-scale control in pitch, roll, and yaw to maintain upright body postures, execute banking turns, and glide horizontally.”

“Scientists have barely scratched the surface in studying the redwood canopy ecosystem and its unique fauna”

The finding is particularly surprising as the salamanders don’t have any webbing or flaps on the surface of their skin to help them parachute and glide, the researchers say. This could potentially mean that other animals may also have hidden skydiving abilities.

The team now plans to use 3D modelling software to further investigate how the salamanders are able to generate lift. They also hope that the findings will help attract attention to A. vagrans, which are currently classified as near threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.

“Scientists have barely scratched the surface in studying the redwood canopy ecosystem and the unique fauna it has shaped through evolutionary time,” said Brown.

“With the climate changing at an unprecedented rate, it is vitally important that we collect more data on animals like wandering salamanders so we may better understand, protect and preserve this delicate ecosystem.”