Underwater flight by the planktonic sea butterfly

The Journal of Experimental Biology
David W MurphyJeannette Yen

Abstract

In a remarkable example of convergent evolution, we show that the zooplanktonic sea butterfly Limacina helicina 'flies' underwater in the same way that very small insects fly in the air. Both sea butterflies and flying insects stroke their wings in a characteristic figure-of-eight pattern to produce lift, and both generate extra lift by peeling their wings apart at the beginning of the power stroke (the well-known Weis-Fogh 'clap-and-fling' mechanism). It is highly surprising to find a zooplankter 'mimicking' insect flight as almost all zooplankton swim in this intermediate Reynolds number range (Re=10-100) by using their appendages as paddles rather than wings. The sea butterfly is also unique in that it accomplishes its insect-like figure-of-eight wing stroke by extreme rotation of its body (what we call 'hyper-pitching'), a paradigm that has implications for micro aerial vehicle (MAV) design. No other animal, to our knowledge, pitches to this extent under normal locomotion.

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Citations

Apr 19, 2016·ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces·Abdel Rahman Abdel FattahIshwar K Puri
Apr 21, 2017·The Journal of Experimental Biology·Anna M ShihAlexandra H Techet
Oct 24, 2018·The Journal of Experimental Biology·Ferhat KarakasDavid W Murphy
Jul 19, 2019·The Journal of Experimental Biology·Julia E SamsonShilpa Khatri
Jun 27, 2020·The Journal of Experimental Biology·Ferhat KarakasDavid W Murphy
Sep 12, 2020·Bioinspiration & Biomimetics·Leah Mendelson, Alexandra H Techet
Nov 6, 2020·Journal of Evolutionary Biology·Le Qin ChooKatja T C A Peijnenburg
Oct 25, 2017·Science Robotics·Yufeng ChenRobert J Wood

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