Why do geckos run on water?

By continually pedaling four limbs into the water to create air bubbles and harness the surface tension of the water, geckos can move on water at almost the same speed when running on the ground.

Some animals become "stars" in their world thanks to their ability to travel both on land and on water, such as spiders, paws, geckos or lizards in general.

Most surprising is the gecko, which has many times the body weight of the rest. In addition to clinging to walls, geckos can glide over the surface of the water at a very fast speed.

In a new analysis published by scientific experts in Current Biology, running on the water is done by this reptile by repeatedly hitting the water surface with all four feet.

Geckos kick into the water, creating air pockets around the feet that reduce drag and keep their bodies above the water.

If small insects such as water spiders use water surface tension to keep the body afloat, larger animals like geckos , said Jasmine Nirody, biophysics expert at Rockefeller University and Oxford University. kicking the water again, creating air pockets around the feet that reduce drag and keep their bodies above the water .

But in order to do this, the gecko must be large and strong to create the necessary force.

The team recorded 8 gecko Hemidactylus platyurus (belonging to the Gekkonidae family) running through a water tank. Then slow down the scene to take a closer look at their actions.

They found that all four limbs of this animal were on the water, the tail also pushed forward. While the gecko's hind legs are still submerged in water, 70% of their forebears are on the water.

In this way, every second of the gecko moves a distance of more than 10 times the length of the body at almost the same speed as it runs on the ground and is much faster than swimming - when the body is completely submerged.

Tonia Hsieh, a biomechanics researcher at Temple University (Philadelphia, USA), tried adding soap to the water to reduce the water surface tension and found the gecko's running speed slowed.

That shows that although surface tension cannot support geckos like spiders or paws, it still helps them increase their mobility . "Super waterproof" sets also contribute to this move.

Geckos may not really go and float on the water in a way like spiders and paws. But how they do this action can help scientists create fast moving robots inside and on the water in the future.