News Feature

Croatian science whizz uncovers eight-legged quirk

27 March 2008

An enterprising scientist from Croatia has got together with Spanish colleagues to uncover the peculiar habits of numerous spider species.

Dr Dejan Vinkovic, an astrophysicist, revealed that the results of his work on the "upside-down hanging" creatures is about to be published in leading industry publication PLoS One.

After studying over 100 spider species, he and his colleagues concluded that some types have evolved to live, eat, breed and walk while they hang upside down.

This, according to the Croatian wonder-worker, preserves energy and enables the eight-legged creatures to move faster.

Dr Vinkovic explained that the majority of land animals evolved to use the ground as the main support for their motion, eventually adapting their legs to support the weight of their bodies.

Particular spider species, however, apparently found it more convenient to hang suspended by their legs and walk by swinging under the influence of gravity.

"With this research, we finally proved that the energetic efficiency of such motion stems from the same physical principle used to run the grandfather clock's motion of a pendulum under the influence of gravity," remarked the Croatian scientist.

Dr Vinkovic's collaboration with Spanish experts marks a significant development in the increased drive by European officials to integrate the endeavours of professionals across the continent.

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