Snakes

[Tglovey2]

How do snakes move?

[football]

They swim though water, glide through the air or in an S shape on the ground.

[tartanwiz]

They ripple their muscles along their underside, right along their full length, thereby 'walking' on their muscles.

[New Forester]

Three main ways: 1 "Swimming". S-shaped waves move down snake, weaving through plants, stones, or of course water. 2 Creeping. Some fatter snakes move the broad scales on their bellies. Each scale joins to a pair of ribs, and these are moved in turn to push on the ground like a millipede's legs. Can be combined with 1, but some will do it when stretched straight out. 3. Side-winding. Some do this a lot (eg desert vipers & rattlesnakes), but others only on smooth surfaces. It's like 1, but alternate loops are lifted off the ground making the snake "roll" to the side. Leaves J-shaped tracks. 4. Yes, one species can flatten its body and glide from tree to tree.