The velvet worm emits a rapidly oscillating jet of proteinaceous slime to capture prey. Here, Concha et al. combine high-speed videography and a physical simulacrum to establish that this passive mechanism is the result of elastohydrodynamic instability during high-speed flow through the oral papillae.
- Andrés Concha
- Paula Mellado
- Julián Monge-Nájera