Researchers at the University of California Berkeley say geckos have 'superhero' powers. Not only can they run, glide, and stick to surfaces, these agile reptiles are also able to run across water.
ADVERTISEMENTScientists have discovered that geckos have ‘superhero’ powers.
Apart from being able to run really fast and glide on trees, scientists say these agile reptiles can also run on water.
This is accomplished by a combination of things:
Biologist Robert Full at the University of California Berkeley says geckos wag their tails, slap their legs with the same kind of gait they use on land, and also stroke their arms, to swim.
“And in addition, their skin is water repellent. It’s called super-hydrophobic and so as they’re going, it pushes the water down and they actually can hydroplane a bit to run across the surface,” said Full.
“So what’s remarkable is they seem to use all of these mechanisms in order to achieve the kinds of speeds that they can do when they run up the wall or they run onto land,” he adds.