Protruding Eyes, Mouth Make Stingrays More Hydrodynamically Efficient

In Physics of Fluids, researchers detail how the protruding eyes and mouths on simulated stingrays affect a range of forces involved in propulsion, such as pressure and vorticity. They created a computer model of a self-propelled flexible plate that mimicked a stingray’s up-and-down harmonic oscillations and used it to illustrate the complex interplay between hydrodynamic forces. The group found that the eyes and mouth help streamline stingrays even further.