Salamanders fill their toes with blood to release sticky grip

Salamanders fill their toes with blood to release sticky grip

Salamanders fill their toes with blood to release sticky grip

The translucent toes of a wandering salamander

William P. Goldenberg

How salamanders manage to move around on uneven, vertical tree surfaces with such dexterity has long baffled scientists. A new discovery suggests they use a trick out of a horror movie: filling their toes with pools of blood.

While Christian Brown at Washington State University was observing wandering salamanders (Aneides vagrans) through a close-up camera in 2021 in a coastal redwood forest, he noticed blood moving in a rhythmic pattern under their translucent skin. Before lifting their foot to take a step, blood inundated the tips of the salamanders’…

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