03 January 2011

Sandfish lizard "swims" through sand

A team at Georgia Tech has been studying the biomechanics that allow the "sandfish lizard" to propel itself so quickly through sand.
"Goldman described the sandfish as a little lizard that lives in the desert in North Africa. When startled, it can burrow 10 cm beneath the surface in less than half a second. Its wedge-shaped head, which biologists believe gives the critter its lightning-quick burrowing ability, was the project's inspiration..."
A cylinder pulled through sand generated lift, but the lizard's head generated "negative lift," keeping it submerged.
"On an earlier research project, Goldman's CRAB Lab used high-speed x-ray imaging to observe the lizard's movement when submerged. They found that it doesn't use its legs when swimming through sand, instead tucking them by its side and slithering like a snake."
Additional information at Physics Buzz.

2 comments:

  1. Cool post! My old lab at the University of South Florida studies the Florida sand skink (Neoseps reynoldsi), an endangered sand-burrowing lizard endemic to Central Florida. It has even more reduced legs and a narrower body than these sandfish lizards and rarely emerges above the surface. Very cool critters, but tricky to study.

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  2. Who is going to care for the poor sandfish lizard when it gets cancer from all the radiation from the x-rays??

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