![]() ![]() Several plants also show water collection mechanisms. Some snakes, toads, arthropods and even mammals have been found to survive water scarcity by using their body surface to collect water from various sources. An adapted dynamics function, which closely reflects the channel morphology, includes that ecological role.Īdaptations in nature to limited resources such as water scarcity are well studied. The large channel quickly absorbs water whereas the sub-capillary structure extends the transport distance by about 39% and potentially reduces the water volume required for drinking. Using micro-computed tomography and scanning electron microscopy of shed skin to investigate capillary morphology, we found that the channels are hierarchically structured as a large channel between the scales that is sub-divided by protrusions into smaller sub-capillaries. ![]() We calculated the total capillary volume as 5.76 µl cm −2 (dorsal) and 4.45 µl cm −2 (ventral), which is reduced to 50% filling by the time transportation ceases. For thorny devils, there was no directionality in cutaneous water transport (unlike Phrynosoma) as 7 µl water droplets applied to the skin were transported radially over more than 9.2 mm. Comparison with preserved specimens showed that live lizards are required for detailed studies of skin water transport. We characterized this capillary water transport for live thorny devils using high-speed video analyses. Their microstructured skin surface, with channels in between overlapping scales, enables them to collect water by capillarity and passively transport it to the mouth for ingestion. Moisture-harvesting lizards, such as the Australian thorny devil Moloch horridus, have remarkable adaptations for inhabiting arid regions. ![]()
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