12/25/2022 0 Comments Jumping cactusBarbed spines more readily penetrated their targets and required less work to do so. Spines without barbs required more work to initiate fracture, the researchers found. And, like those on the porcupine quills, the cactus barbs are just the right size to snag animal muscle fibers, the researchers discovered. Like porcupine quills, barbed cactus spines have a shingled appearance, the result of overlapping layers of barbs. "The barbed spines – like those on the cholla – looked incredibly similar to porcupine quills studied by other groups." "Before we started the experiments, we looked at the spines under a scanning electron microscope," Crofts said. University of Illinois postdoctoral researcher Stephanie Crofts and animal biology professor Philip Anderson found that barbed cactus spines behave a lot like porcupine quills: They readily penetrate fibrous materials and hold fast. They measured how much force was required to puncture - and withdraw from - each material with each type of spine. To compare the different spines, Crofts and Anderson tested them in skinless chicken breasts, pork shoulders (with the skin) and synthetic elastomers of differing densities. Cholla spines have a reproductive purpose: By latching on to any critter unlucky enough to brush past them, the spines help the plant distribute pieces of itself to new locations. In addition to cholla, the researchers evaluated the spines of Echinocactus grusonii, the golden barrel cactus Opuntia fragilis, or brittle prickly pear Pereskia grandifolia, the rose cactus Echinopsis terscheckii, the Argentine saguaro and Opuntia polyacantha, the plains prickly pear.Ĭactus spines may have a variety of functions, including defending the plant from predators, providing shade and collecting water from fog. "We're looking at the fundamental mechanics of a puncture event and how differences in cactus spines – in particular their microstructure – affect how they puncture and anchor into whatever they're puncturing," Crofts said. The researchers report their findings in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. They found that the same biomechanical traits that allow barbed cactus spines to readily penetrate animal flesh also make them more difficult to dislodge. The researchers, who study the biomechanics of puncturing plants and animals, wanted to know how spine structure influences its performance. This is one of six species of cactus subjected to careful testing by University of Illinois postdoctoral researcher Stephanie Crofts and animal biology professor Philip Anderson. The barbed spines grip so tightly that a segment of cactus often breaks off with them, leaving the victim with a prickly problem. This shrubby, branching cactus will – if provoked by touching – anchor its splayed spines in the flesh of the offender. (Photo by John Traeger.)īeware the jumping cholla, Cylindropuntia fulgida. They latch on to passersby and carry small chunks of cactus flesh to new locations. The spines of Cylindropuntia fulgida, also known as jumping cholla, have a reproductive role.
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