SCIENTIST. SCI COMM. ARTIST. FISHERMAN.

REFFLING: AN ENTIRELY NEW FORM OF TERRESTRIAL LOCOMOTION

Armored Suckermouth Catfishes (Loricariidae or "Plecos") have incredible armor and morphology that great restricts their range of motion/flexibility. Despite this, they can move quite well on land. Through high-speed video, modeling, and microCT scans, I was able to describe their unique terrestrial locomotor behavior and how it is achieved. They coordinate asymmetric tail, pelvic fin, pectoral fin, body, and mouth movements to move forward on land in a way unlike any other locomotor behavior, which is why a new word was needed to describe this behavior: reffling (or repetitive flinging, based on tail movements that move the fish forward using inertia, not ground reaction forces). This unusual behavior is likely used because their morphology physical restricts them from moving overland using any other behavior. However, by having rigid connections between the vertebral column and the pelvic girdle, these fish are likely able to transmit force extremely well to the ground to aid inertial tail movements, propelling the fish forward.

HAGFISH SLIME PROPERTIES AND USES

Hagfish are primitive, jawless, eyeless, and boneless fishes that live in the extreme depths of the oceans. They have a unique defense against predators: slime. Their slime is unlike other fish slime in that they can produce enormous quantities of dilute slime very rapidly. This slime is also reinforced by threads that are tough like spider silk. As a member of Dr. Doug Fudge's at Chapman University, we are investigating the possible uses of hagfish slime, such as how it could be used by the US Navy to safely stop boat propellers at high speed (pictured above, credit: NAVSEA). We are also describing the unusual properties of hagfish slime and the effects it has on predatory fish.