RESEARCH PROJECT : IS IT POSSIBLE TO WALK ON WATER ?
Lizards
Basilicus plumifrons is also known as “green basilisk”, “double crested basilisk”, “plumed basilisk” or “Jesus Christ lizard” because of its incredible capacity to run on water. You can find this species in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.
Description :
Adult plumed basilisks are mainly brilliant green, with a blue and white throat. It has some brown and green dots on its back.
The basilisk's tail is long and an adult male can reach 80 cm and its weight is about 200 grammes.
How do they walk on water ?
When the Basilisk runs on a liquid surface, it can reach a speed of 10 km/h thanks to the fancy morphology of its fingers and its legs.
This speed allows it to escape to its predators most of time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45yabrnryXk
The secret of the run of the basilisk is hidden behind every single strides of its legs, divided in three steps:
First of all, the basilisk’s foot strikes tightly the surface of water.
The sinking of the leg creates an air pocket,(a and b) ,Then it does an horizontal movement towards the back to move forward. ( c )
Finally, the basilisk lifts its leg in a fraction of second before the cavity of air closes (d).
https://sites.google.com/site/marchersurleautpe/i/b-les-compagnons-d-her/le-lezard-jesus-christ
Conclusion
Finally, thanks to the association of its low-mass with the large contact surface of its legs with water and the frequency of its strides, the basilisk is able to balance its mass during its aquatic sprint.
