Biology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA.
Biol Lett. 2013 May 1;9(3):20130234. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2013.0234. Print 2013 Jun 23.
The northern clingfish, Gobiesox maeandricus, is able to adhere to slippery, fouled and irregular surfaces in the marine intertidal environment. We have found that the fish can adhere equally well to surfaces with a broad range of surface roughness, from the finest sandpaper (R(a) = 15 µm) to textures suitable for removing finish from flooring (R(a) = 269 µm). The fishes outperform man-made suction cups, which only adhere to the smoothest surfaces. The adhesive forces of clingfish correspond to pressures 0.2-0.5 atm below ambient and are 80-230 times the body weight of the fish. The tenacity appears related to hierarchically structured microvilli around the edges of the adhesive disc that are similar in size and aspect ratio to the setae found on the feet of geckoes, spiders and insects. This points to a possible biomimetic solution to the problem of reversibly adhering to irregular, submerged surfaces.
北方吸口鱼能够附着在海洋潮间带环境中的光滑、污染和不规则表面上。我们发现，这种鱼可以同样很好地附着在具有广泛表面粗糙度的表面上，从最细的砂纸（R(a) = 15 µm）到适合去除地板涂层的纹理（R(a) = 269 µm）。鱼类的表现优于人造吸盘，后者只能附着在最光滑的表面上。吸口鱼的粘附力对应于环境压力下 0.2-0.5 个大气压的压力，是鱼体重的 80-230 倍。这种韧性似乎与粘附盘边缘周围具有层次结构的微绒毛有关，这些微绒毛的大小和纵横比与壁虎、蜘蛛和昆虫脚上的刚毛相似。这为解决可逆附着在不规则、水下表面的问题提供了一种可能的仿生解决方案。
