Some animals can walk on water!

Water is a unique chemical. It has properties that are very important for sustaining life on Earth. One of these properties is surface tension, where molecules on the surface of a liquid tightly bond with one another. The surface can hold weight. Due to this surface tension, small creatures such as insects can float on water even if they are denser than the water.

This property occurs because the molecules in the liquid are attracted to each other due to weak positive and negative charges. Scientists call this polarity. By spreading out their weight, some insects and even small animals can use the surface tension of water to hold themselves up while they walk or glide across its surface.

Water striders, for example, are small insects with waxy hairs on their legs that repel water. When they spread out their six legs, they can stay afloat using surface tension. They even use their legs like oars to paddle along. Fishing spiders have similar abilities.

The basilisk lizard is too big to float this easily, but it can run across the surface. These lizards live in the dense forests of Central and South America. They have long toes on their hind feet with fringes of skin that spread out when they jump and hit the water. This increased surface area helps to spread out their weight. As long as they run fast enough, they can create a small pocket of air under their feet that helps them.