Jet Propulsion - Jet-propelled Animals

Jet-propelled Animals

Jet propulsion in cephalopods is produced by water being exhaled through a siphon, which typically narrows to a small opening to produce the maximum exhalent velocity. The water passes through the gills prior to exhalation, fulfilling the dual purpose of respiration and locomotion. Sea hares (gastropod molluscs) employ a similar means of jet propulsion, but without the sophisticated neurological machinery of cephalopods they navigate somewhat more clumsily.

Some teleost fish have also developed jet propulsion, passing water through the gills to supplement fin-driven motion.

In some dragonfly larvae, jet propulsion is achieved by the expulsion of water from a specialised cavity through the anus. Given the small size of the organism, a great speed is achieved.

Scallops and cardiids, siphonophores, tunicates (such as salps), and some jellyfish also employ jet propulsion. The most efficient jet-propelled organisms are the salps, which use an order of magnitude less energy (per kilogram per metre) than squid.