This is how a free-swimming marsh grass shrimp (Palaemonetes vulgaris) moves forward using metachronal locomotion to reduce drag.
Marsh grass shrimp (Palaemonetes vulgaris) are impressively fast and nimble swimmers, as anyone who’s seen them zipping about tide pools at the beach can attest. Nils Tack, a postdoctoral researcher at Brown University, studies the biomechanics and fluid dynamics of how these little creatures manage the feat. He presented his latest findings at a recent American Physical Society meeting on fluid dynamics in Indianapolis. Essentially, the shrimp uses its flexible and closely spaced legs to reduce drag significantly. The findings will help
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