Cricket frogs belly flop their way across water

Their bodies sink listed below the surface area between succeeding dives, researchers report in the November Journal of Experimental Biology. This mode of mobility is a kind of “porpoising,” when an animal jumps in and out of the water as it travels.

McKenzie Prillaman is a science and health reporter based in Washington, DC. She holds a bachelor’s level in neuroscience from the College of Virginia and a master’s degree in scientific research interaction from the University of California, Santa Cruz. She was the spring 2023 intern at Science News.

The cricket frogs, nonetheless, stopped briefly between dives, distinguishing their activities from traditional porpoising, Weiss states. The amphibians may be as well slow-moving or as well tiny to capitalize on the forward momentum they generate.

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So biomechanist Talia Weiss and colleagues accumulated cricket frogs (Acris crepitans) from an overload in North Carolina. Belonging to the eastern half of the United States and northeastern Mexico, these pests are so small that can fit on a cent, claims Weiss, previously of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.

The team recorded 5 frogs as they jumped throughout water in a glass storage tank, in a total of 45 trials. The frog then presses off the water with its back legs, flying in an arc through the air.

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The group shot 5 frogs as they leapt throughout water in a glass storage tank, in a total amount of 45 tests. The frog then pushes off the water with its back legs, flying in an arc through the air. They’re going ahead the whole time, and they’re utilizing their momentum to repetitively jump out of the water and jump into the water.”

The power financial savings come from the minimized resistance animals deal with when traveling with air compared with the water, Weiss claims. Porpoising “is a consistent activity. They’re moving forward the whole time, and they’re utilizing their momentum to continuously jump out of the water and delve into the water.”

With each consecutive jump, the frogs took a trip about 16 centimeters onward and flew virtually 4 centimeters high. Their mobility resembled that of the jumping dolphins, seals and fish that porpoise to conserve energy.