Scientists reveal the secrets of frogs' super ability to jump across water

21.01.2025/05/30 XNUMX:XNUMX    590


Cricket frogs, native to Virginia and North Carolina, demonstrate an incredible ability to run across the surface of water, challenging our understanding of animal physics and behavior. A new study has found that what appears to be a water dance is actually a series of rapid, diving leaps. This surprising insight advances our understanding of animal locomotion and has potential implications for the development of advanced robotics and amphibian drones inspired by nature.

Frogs jumping on water

Can frogs walk on water?

Some species of frogs fascinate scientists and nature lovers alike with their seemingly impossible ability to leap and hop across water, seemingly defying gravity. Among these amazing frogs is the cricket frog, a species native to Virginia and North Carolina. Its movements on water are not only intriguing, but may also offer ideas that could shape future innovations in robotics, watercraft design, and other technologies.

Jake Socha, the Samuel Herrick Professor of Mechanical Engineering, leads a research team investigating the cricket frog's unique skill called "jumping." The term refers to the frog's ability to make multiple, rapid leaps across the surface of water. Their findings, detailed in the journal Nature, are published in the journal Nature. Journal of Experimental Biology, include graduate student Talia Weiss as the study's lead author.

"Skittering is not really a well-defined word for this behavior—one naturalist used it to describe the 'water-hopping' behavior of frogs in 1949, and it has been used for this type of locomotion in all subsequent literature since then," Weiss said. "Part of this study is not only to study this behavior in cricket frogs, but also to try to give 'skitter' a more precise scientific definition."

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Unique movement mechanics

How do they do it? In their research, Socha's team found that while common sense dictates that frogs cross water without diving, this may require highly specialized anatomy. What does this frog have that others don't?




“Our lab has studied a number of animals, and many of them exhibit fascinating behaviors in navigating their environment,” Socha said. “The humble cricket frog lives nearby, but it still surprised us with its abilities, further fueling our curiosity about understanding the living world.

High-speed video statistics

Cricket frogs are one of the smallest frogs in North America, easily fitting on the thumb of an average adult. To watch the cricket frog in motion, the team used high-speed video. They recorded the frog hopping both on land and in water, watching the movement of its legs as they moved.

The team found that the frogs were actually sinking with each jump. While the “running” picture gives the impression of the frogs jumping freely, with only their feet touching the surface of the water, the recordings showed a different picture. Soha, Weiss and their teammates saw that every time a frog came down from a jump, its entire body was submerged. The movement was less like a frog freely jumping and dancing through the water, and more like a splash and a leap. Their movements might be better called “porpoise” movements, after the movements used by a porpoise or dolphin: jumping into the air from below the surface of the water.

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Frog jumping dynamics

The reason cricket frogs previously appeared to be dancing on the water when viewed with the naked eye is because of their rapid movement. To record this ultra-fast movement, the team used a 20-gallon glass tank and released the frogs into it. High-speed cameras, which shot up to 500 frames per second, were aimed at the side of the glass tank to capture the action above and below the water's surface. As the frogs jumped, the team recorded their escape. The video was slowed down to a small fraction of their original speed. When they reviewed the footage, the team members made their startling observation: The frogs had indeed drowned.

Detecting delayed observations

"It's amazing how easily we can fool animals with their rapid movements," said Soha. "Here we are being fooled by a frog that looks like a stone that is jumping, but is actually jumping and throwing several times in a row. Frogs are great at jumping, but most of them don't exhibit the same behavior as guinea pigs, and we still don't know why. Is there something special about the frog's jumping, or is it just a matter of its small body size?"

By watching them in slow motion, the team members were able to observe the frog's movements as it retracted and extended its limbs. They also noticed that the angle of its body to the waterline played an important role in allowing it to balance in the water. They divided each jump cycle into:

  • Takeoff, from underwater position
  • Aerial, or time in the air after a jump
  • Re-entry, back into the water
  • Recovery, reset to next jump
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In a little more than a second, the frog took off, fully submerged, extending its legs in an underwater thrust to lift its body above the surface. Its hind legs remained extended as it moved through the air, while its front legs moved from being pressed against its body to being pulled forward. The extended front legs are the first to touch the water upon re-entry, while the hind legs are still extended as it sinks. As it descends, the hind legs retract and bend back into a jumping position. Another jump is made, repeating the movement.

This is essentially a belly flop. The team watched the frogs make eight consecutive jumps, each completed in less than a second.

Implications for technology and robotics

Understanding skittering is a major discovery for the realm of biology, but it also holds other clues. The discovery creates a new physical foundation for future biotechnologies. It could be applied to a water testing system that needs to be deployed quickly, or to an amphibian drone that takes measurements of water depth. These futuristic devices could use nature’s cues to exploit well-tested techniques that frogs have used for centuries.


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