Biomimetic and Live Medusae Reveal the Mechanistic Advantages of a Flexible Bell Margin
Figure 9
Flow around inflexion points of medusae.
Flow during initial stages of bell contraction and vortex production at the bell margins of six medusan rowing swimmers. (A) Aurelia aurita, (B) Chrysaora quinquecirrha, (C) Mastigias papua, (D) Cyanea capillata, (E) Phyllorhiza punctata, (F) the velarium of a large (13 cm bell diameter) Chironex fleckerii. White scale bars represent a spatial reference of 1.0 cm. Note that, for all species, the highest velocity vectors are directed into the inflexion point at the bell margin as illustrated in Figure 8A.