This video requires the latest version of Flash Player. Click here to download. This video requires the latest version of Flash Player. Click here to download.Published May 12, 2010
Researchers used high-speed cameras and slowed the video to study the jumping abilities of frogs. The team found that the frogs can use their very stretchy muscles to create energy to jump up to more than ten times their length.
© 2010 National Geographic; Manny Azizi, Tom Roberts and Emily Abbott
RELATED
Froghopper Bug Crowned "World's Greatest Leaper"
American Bullfrog Pictures, Facts, More
Unedited Trascript
Researchers used high-speed cameras to study frog muscles, and the slowed-down video helps reveal secrets of the frog’s jumping abilities.
The researchers from Brown University studied the video frame by frame. The videos you’re seeing were shot at 500 frames per second.
Before the frogs jump, they stretch most of their hindlimb muscles, and increase their length, which may be part of their secret.
The Brown University research paper, published recently in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, focused on bull frogs. But other frogs were filmed with high-speed cameras as well, revealing stunning video of the amphibians’ ability to jump.
Here, the champion jumper, a Cuban tree frog, is seen as muscles stretch, contract and then stretch again at the height of its jump.
The frog jump has three simultaneous movements: the forelegs flex; the hind leg swings to a vertical position and locks; and the thigh swings in a horizontal plane.
Some bull frogs, which average about 7 inches in length, have been recorded jumping as much as 7 feet— that’s more than ten times their length!
The study focused on the plantaris muscle, a smaller leg muscle. Researchers implanted sensors and electrodes on the plantaris to gather data.
Lead researcher Manny Azizi says a conclusion from the study is the frogs’ muscles have tremendous passive flexibility, unlike mammals, whose muscles are mostly ‘stiff.’ The frogs generate a ‘ton’ of mechanical energy during their jumps.
Azizi says the frogs are in some ways, “cheating the limits of what muscles alone should be capable of doing.”
The frog first stretches most of its hindlimb muscles while in a crouching position, making the muscles longer so they can produce much more force. That force is what propels them into the air.
The frogs’ secret trick to get past the law of physics just might be the ability to use their very stretchy muscles to create a force of nature that no mammal – four-legged – or human, can even come close to.
Most Popular News
-
Pictures: Bird Mummies "Fed" After Death, Stuffed With Snails
Some of the millions of ancient Egyptian ibis mummies were "fed" after death, scans reveal—the better to live through the afterlife.
-
Lake Vostok Breached
Russian scientists have confirmed that they have breached the subglacial Lake Vostok in Antarctica—a first.
-
Oldest Animal Discovered?
Could 760-million-year-old African "sponges" be humankind's earliest known ancestors?
Advertisement
From the Web
-
From Huffington Post: Wolf Fosters Kitten
Adorable footage shows a pet wolf looking after a tiny kitty.
-
From Huffington Post: Rare Albino Hummingbird Spotted
The tiny bird was seen visiting a backyard in Virginia.
News Blogs
-
Texas Moves to Save Critical Groundwater
Ogallala Aquifer has dropped as much as 150 feet.
-
Good News, Bad News on U.S. Energy Outlook
The "all of the above" energy approach Obama championed in his State of the Union speech is at odds with U.S. climate goals.
-
Uranus Easy to Find This Week
Thanks to a close encounter with Venus, sky-watchers will have the chance the next few nights to easily glimpse the "green giant" Uranus.
ScienceBlogs Picks
Connect With Nat Geo
Got Something to Share?
Special Ad Section
Great Energy Challenge Blog
Green Living Hot Topics
-
Organic Air Fresheners
Avoid toxic chemicals and create a calming space.
-
Surprising Recyclable Household Items
With a little know-how, you can recycle more than you think.
-
Side Effects of Vegetarianism
Find out how to stay healthy and eat lower on the food chain.
