News From the Field
Study Reveals Small Lizard Tucks Legs and Swims Like a Snake Through Desert Sand

July 16, 2009

A study published in the July 17 issue of the journal Science details how sandfish--small lizards with smooth scales--move rapidly underground through desert sand. In this first thorough examination of subsurface sandfish locomotion, researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology found that the animals place their limbs against their sides and create a wave motion with their bodies to propel themselves through granular media. Full Story

Source
Georgia Institute of Technology

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