According to CNET, the "wandering" salamander Aneides vagrans lives, eats and flies high in the canopy of California Sequoia forest Scientists marvel at this "parachuting" amphibian and its ability to glide effortlessly and complete complex aerial movements
A study led by researchers at the University of South Florida and the University of California, Berkeley, investigated the gliding skills of "wandering" salamanders using wind tunnels to capture slow shots of amphibian movements. The wind tunnel simulates the conditions of falling in the air. The paper appeared in [contemporary biology] on Monday( https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822 (22) 00602-9).
"They can turn. If they stand upside down, they can flip themselves. They can maintain the skydiving position and pull their tails up and down for horizontal maneuvers," USF biologist and lead author Christian Brown said in a statement at the University of California, Berkeley on Monday. "This level of control is really impressive."
The team compared "wandering" salamanders with other salamanders, including terrestrial salamanders. Terrestrial amphibians are basically bad in wind tunnel experiments. Brown said they "just hovered in the wind tunnel and were scared". In contrast, a. vagrans is very comfortable and dexterous in the air.
Biologists climbed trees to study these animals, which is why they first noticed the jumping and gliding ability of these salamanders. Stray salamanders seem to be using their flying skills as a way to stay in the canopy when they fall or need to jump to avoid predators or fall from trees. Considering that these creatures live on towering redwoods 150 feet (46 meters) above the ground, this gliding is very convenient.
Another video from the University of California, Berkeley, shows salamanders jumping.
Researchers are fascinated by how salamanders perform these aerial "ballet" dances, because this amphibian looks like other salamanders and has no obvious aerodynamic adaptability to help them "parachute". The group called for further research to better understand how subtle physical features play a role in "skydiving".