A sea butterfly at different stages of a wing beat. (Photo credit: David Murphy.)
A snail that flies may sound like science-fiction, but it’s not – quite. The Limacina helicina, a zooplanktonic sea butterfly, is a type of sea snail (the “butterfly” is a misnomer) that moves through the water in the same way a fruit fly flies, by moving its wings in a figure eight pattern.
Using a new 3D system with high speed cameras researchers were able to capture details of the wings’ movement through the water.
Original research paper published in the Journal of Experimental Biology on February 17, 2015.
Names and affiliations of selected authors
David W. Murphy, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, U.S.A.
