Freethought & Rationalism Archive

RRoman · 05-29-2003, 05:15 AM

I just thought that, since Ipetrich brought up tumbleweeds and flagella, I though I might just offer a few more examples for the discussion. sorry if it has no relevance.

Oolon Colluphid · 05-29-2003, 07:08 AM

Well if you can�t have wheels, you can yourself be one...

Ah, the stuff you can learn from good old BBC nature programmes! I remembered seing some lizard-shaped thing rolling down hillsides, so a Google for the programme�s title plus �rolling� solved it. From this page about the marvellous critters seen in the Beeb�s Weird Nature series:

Quote:

Did you think man invented the wheel? Well think again. In the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California, there's a salamander with a highly efficient way of getting from A to B. It curls itself up into a ball, tucks in its legs and head, and then it simply rolls down the hill, just like a tyre. It even has a rubbery body to soften the impact from any rocks and stones that get in the way. Why walk when you can let gravity do the work?

The salamander in question is the Mount Lyell salamander, Hydromantes platycephalus. And just to prove the BBC wasn�t CGI-ing the film of it, here�s an article on these salamanders:

Garcia-Paris, M., et al., 1995, �A novel antipredator mechanism in salamanders: rolling escape in Hydromantes platycephalus�. J. Herp. 29(1):149-151. See here for a pdf of that article!

Ain�t the web cool?!

Cheers, Oolon

PS: Drat, should have read that link. Ah well.

PPS: Is this a bit of herpetology that Doov didn't know?

Grumpy · 05-29-2003, 02:14 PM

Next to wheels, I'm surprised there are no animals that use lighter-than-air balloons, like the man-o-war in water. Peter Dickinson conjectures hydrogen-powered dragons in his book The Flight of Dragons, but it never happened in real life.

Nic Tamzek · 05-29-2003, 08:20 PM

Whoa, those salamanders are cool.

Regarding hydrogen ballons, it would sure add another dimension to thunderstorms....

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05-29-2003, 05:15 AM	#11
RRoman Regular Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Durham, UK / Frankfurt, Germany Posts: 345	I just thought that, since Ipetrich brought up tumbleweeds and flagella, I though I might just offer a few more examples for the discussion. sorry if it has no relevance.

05-29-2003, 02:14 PM	#13
Grumpy Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Alaska, USA Posts: 1,535	Next to wheels, I'm surprised there are no animals that use lighter-than-air balloons, like the man-o-war in water. Peter Dickinson conjectures hydrogen-powered dragons in his book The Flight of Dragons, but it never happened in real life.

05-29-2003, 08:20 PM	#14
Nic Tamzek Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: California Posts: 646	Whoa, those salamanders are cool. Regarding hydrogen ballons, it would sure add another dimension to thunderstorms....

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