Snakes are vertebrate and ectothermic animals and are one of the few organisms that propel themselves by sliding their body over the ground, that is, they crawl. Compared to animals with limbs, this mode of movement seems like a poor choice of locomotion. However, snakes are able to move their limbless bodies through various terrains including rocks, sand, mud, and leaf litter. Its body has an elongated shape and lacks both front and rear limbs, however, this does not prevent its body from being extremely agile and with very precise movements. And this is due to a combination of certain anatomical features, such as the backbone, the scales and their distribution along the body and powerful musculature, which together allow snakes to move over almost any surface.
If you're interested in learning more about how snakes move, keep reading this article on our site and we'll tell you all about it.
How do snakes move if they don't have legs?
Snakes move on a variety of surfaces and are also capable of climbing from tree trunks to brick walls. But how do snakes get around if they don't have legs? Snakes slither thanks to a series of flexible scales on their bellies, which are activated when the snake starts to move. This gives them friction during movement, allowing them to crawl.
When snakes move, the back edges of the scales on their bellies are attached to the ground Because of this, their muscles can propel themselves forward, allowing them to move according to the terrain they are on. For example, the horned rattlesnake (Bothriechis schlegelii) has its tricks to survive the sandy habitats in which it lives, swinging its head and upper body forward and sideways. The lower part of the body and the tail with the belly raised above the hot sand, leaves a "J" shaped drawing in the sand. Other species can climb trees and, to do so, they wrap around the trunk and gradually climb up like an accordion thanks to their tail, with which they "grab" the tree. Then, they stretch their heads and push forward to "jump" to another surface.
How do snakes move? - Types of movements
In general, depending on the species and the environment where it lives, snakes can crawl in four different ways:
- By lateral movement: This method allows snakes to slide on more slippery and less firm surfaces, such as mud or dirt. sand. The animal stretches its head forward while its body continues the movement, then this is repeated as it moves forward, first contracting the muscles on one side and then the other. This way is widely used by colubrids (family Colubridae).
- By serpentine or serpentine movement: through which the snake can glide over almost any type of surface, thanks to undulating movements. In this case, moving on slippery surfaces, such as glass, would not be possible, and this type of travel mode is also called lateral undulations. This method is present in almost all types of snakes.
- By accordion or concertina movement: This represents one of the most difficult modes for snakes, but is very effective at moving around. very small sites. It anchors the rear of the body, allowing you to push and extend the front. Then it does the same thing by exchanging the parts, that's why it's called an "accordion". It is common in viperids and pit vipers, among which are the most poisonous snakes.
- By rectilinear movements: in this way, snakes make slower and linear movements with a straight body, being very different from other ways. This method is used by larger species, such as boas (family Boidae), where their own weight forces them to move in this way.
Curiosities of snakes
Snakes have a great variety of adaptations and peculiarities, some of which we have mentioned before, that make them unique animals and that over time have aroused fear and amazement. On the other hand, they have other characteristics that most of us did not know and that we will name below:
- There are species in almost the whole world: except in places with a very cold climate, such as Antarctica, and we can find them both in terrestrial environments, purely arboreal, such as in water.
- They are tetrapods: despite not having limbs, they are tetrapod animals and, like other animals of this group that do not have legs, their ancestors had four legs. However, some studies indicate that they used their limbs not to walk, but to search for food and during mating.
- Long periods without feeding: they can spend long periods without feeding, up to about six months, during which time they remain more inactive and their metabolism is reduced by more than 70%.
- Care for their young: Some species, such as boids, have parental care, that is, some kind of care for their young, where they incubate the eggs and protect them by wrapping their body around them, some species even build nests with grass and twigs that they themselves drag using their tails.
- Cannibalism: Certain species of rattlesnakes, for example, cannibalize unhatched eggs or young that do not survive, which involves recovering some of the energy lost during playback.
- They are not hypnotized: Cobra snakes (Ophiophagus hannah), contrary to popular belief, are not hypnotized by snake charmers, as we have seen many times. The animals are simply attracted by the movement of the instrument used by their keepers and rise from the ground to closely follow it.
- They are not deaf: these animals are not deaf, since they can hear through air and ground vibrations using their body attached to the floor and jawbones, which transfers sound to your inner ear.
- Some can "fly": There are species that can "fly". This is not exactly the case, but they can glide from one tree to another by flattening their body and propelling themselves by “jumping”.
- Various sizes: The smallest snake in the world is about 9 to 10 cm long, it is called Tetracheilostoma carlae and it is endemic of forests in the Barbados Islands. While the largest and longest that exists measures more than 10 meters in length and is the anaconda (Eunectes murinus), endemic to South America.
