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The work is part of a growing field that merges biology with often inexpensive robots to examine the complicated physics of movement. A few years ago, his team's robot experiments wouldn't have been possible, according to Dr. Goldman, because the parts for the robo-mudskipper were too expensive. Now, scientists have access to 3-D printing and cheap chips and sensors. The team's robot cost less than $500, he said.

"It's very cool...The key thing about this paper is data," said John Hutchinson, a professor of evolutionary biomechanics at the University of London's Royal Veterinary College who wasn't involved in the study. "It tests things with pretty rigorous modern methods."

Malcolm MacIver, a roboticist and biomedical engineer at Northwestern University's Neuroscience and Robotics Lab who wasn't involved with the work, called it "fascinating," saying bio-inspired robots can help scientists explore unknown concepts in ways that more traditional mathematical models and simulations can't. For instance, Dr. MacIver said he's used robots to study the evolution of swimming behavior in fish. Another study published Thursday in Science describes a robotic stingray modeled after real animals.

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