Not to be confused with flying penguins. Described in Ed Yong's Not Exactly Rocket Science column:
When threatened by fish, some copepods can jump straight out of the water and shoot over many times their own body lengths. From the fish’s point of view, its prey suddenly disappears. Flying fish use the same tactic to escape from predators...His video below documents the phenomenon -
Brad Gemmell from the University of Texas, Austin filmed flying copepods (Anomalocera ornata) both in the field and with a high-speed camera in the lab. As they escaped from approaching mullet, they kicked back with their legs, pulled their antennae back, and left the water.
Further details re the energy cost and effectiveness of the maneuver at Discover and in the study in Proc Roy Soc B. Personally, I'm most impressed that they can overcome the surface tension forces (see related photos here and here).
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