Whenever I see this picture I think of this:
| Creature | Swims | Walks | Flies |
| -------- | ----- | ----- | ----- |
| Dog | X | X | |
| Fish | X | | |
| Bird | | X | X |
| Duck | X | X | X |
Notice how for each combination of swimming, walking and flying, there is a living creature that can do just that, with the exception of swimming and flying.
Sure there are flying fish, but they glide rather than fly. Did evolution really forget to cover this niche?
Flying fish
The fish only says it can’t walk
lungfish
Okay, but does it fly? Find me a fish that can do all three
Lungfish in a hang glider
I would vote for the gannet as able to fly and swim. They dive incredibly fast to catch fish, so they go deep, and once down there, they use their wings to swim after fish.
Great article here, with photos: https://www.naturettl.com/underwater-world-gannets/
So while it needs to get out to breathe, it can still swim underwater for as long as it has breath. Nice.
However, those feet look like they can be used to walk.
It’s called a @FlyingSquid@lemmy.world
Dragonflies.
Their nymph phase is aquatic and in their adult phase they only fly. Their legs are only for grasping.
Pretty sure I’ve seen dragon flies crawling along plants on land?
Pretty sure I’ve seen dragon flies crawling along plants on land?
Yes, you are pretty sure. Glad I could answer your question.
They can shift around a little bit, but they don’t really walk as a means of travel.
Good idea! I think fireflies can walk (over short distances), but maybe there are other insects close to water that can’t.
All fish fly, just not through the air.
And, uh, The Common Loon is a creature that can swim and fly, but can’t walk. It’s feet are too far back to be able to walk.
Flying Fish
They don’t really fly though, just glide a short distance after a jump.
Falling, with style!
If they actually generate lift I’d call it flying, but I don’t know if they do
Gliding requires lift, but the lift they generate is mostly generated while they’re still in the water as far as I know.
That’s more than I do.
Same. I can’t even swim.
Here’s an australian lungfish
Here’s linda the lungfish
Note that Markdown does tables:
|Creature|Swims|Walks|Flies| |-|-|-|-| |Dog|X|X|| |Fish|X||| |Bird||X|X| |Duck|X|X|X|Yields:
Creature Swims Walks Flies Dog X X Fish X Bird X X Duck X X X Thanks, but it didn’t render well on my client, so I wanted to play save.
Depends on the markdown dialect, it’s not a standard feature. I didn’t know Lemmy supports it.
deleted by creator
A paraplegic seaplane pilot
Loon
That actually might be the best answer! Flying fish only glide.
Genus Chrysopelea, commonly referred to as flying snakes. Most snakes are perfectly fine swimmers, so I bet that Genus can swim as well.
You have to take a restrictive definition of “walk”, though.
huh, is it restrictive to say that you need some number of legs to be able to walk?
I personally can’t wait for the snakenado trilogy to come out
That’s pretty cool and also quite scary!
The common loon flies and swims, but isn’t able to walk.
TIL:
Loons are excellent swimmers, using their feet to propel themselves above and under water. However, since their feet are located far back on the body, loons have difficulty walking on land, though they can effectively run short distances to reach water when frightened. Thus, loons avoid coming to land, except for mating and nesting.
Thanks! That’s exactly what I’ve been searching for.
Cormorants don’t walk well… Their legs are set far back on their body for more efficient swimming.
I think this and loons are the closest to what I’ve been searching for! I even found a video of a loon having to be rescued because it’s unable to walk.
Loons are another one.
A puffin?!
A puffin!?
