Snakes, why did it have to be snakes?
Because they’re AWESOME
Hey guys Julia here for DNews
While some people are absolutely terrified of snakes, I actually really love them.
They are some of the most fascinating animals on this planet, I mean just how do they get
about without any legs?
Well to answer that we first have to understand a little bit more about their evolutionary
history.
Snakes appear on every continent and almost every country except famously Ireland.
A study published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology found that snakes probably evolved
from a four-legged lizard, which another study suggests happened sometime during the Jurassic
Period around 150 million years ago.
Researchers believe that they probably lost their legs to adapt to moving in narrow underground
burrows, it’s thought that legs simply got in the way.
Recently the journal Science found a so-called “missing link” between lizards and snakes.
Tetrapodophis amplectus hails from what’s now South America and lived during the cretaceous
period.
These creatures are supposed to be distant cousins of what we know to be snakes.
They had a long body, a small tail, and four little limbs that were used for grasping prey.
To this day you can actually still see vestigial leg bones in some snakes like pythons and
boa constrictors.
Without legs snakes evolved a few clever ways to move.
A study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found
that snake scales are for more than just good looks.
Scales act like a kind of hook to help snakes slither across surfaces.
Researchers previously assumed that scales help snakes move across rough surfaces like
rocks and tree bark.
But their scales can even grasp onto smooth surfaces and fine grains of sand.
Some snakes can move using just their belly scales alone.
Big snakes like pythons and boa constrictors, can move in a straight line just by lifting
up their undersides enough to grip and push off the ground using their scales.
This is called rectilinear locomotion.
But for other types of snakes, it takes more that just a few scales to get from point A
to point B. Snakes have segmented muscles that are made for slithering, allowing them
to glide over a surface in a twisting or oscillating motion.
The typical snake slither you’re familiar with is called Lateral Undulation, where they
move their segmented muscles in a specific, sequential pattern.
This wave-like motion propels the snake forward in an s shape, when the snake’s body contacts
some sort of fixed point, like a rock or depression in the ground.
The snake actually uses THIS fixed point, to kind of push off and move forward.
If the environment is lacking these kinds of resistance points, a snake might use a
sidewinding motion, like the creatively named sidewinder.
This movement is similar to lateral undulation, except well, it’s sideways.
And only two points of the snake’s body are touching the ground at anytime, so it’s
an incredibly fast way to get around.
In fact it’s reported that a sidewinder can reach up to 18mph.
Snakes can also climb trees, using what’s called Concertina locomotion.
They stretch out their heads and scrunch up their bodies behind them kind of like an accordion.
Unlike lateral undulation, their muscles are moved all at once, rather than in a sequence.
While most snakes use more than one of these forms of movement, the coolest example of
a snake is Chrysopelea, also known as, the flying snake.
These snakes are not only able to climb trees but can jump from branch to branch.
According to a study published in the journal Integrative and Comparative Biology,
when Chrysopelea readies itself for take-off, it contorts its body into a J-shape, before
it thrusts up from the branch to become airborne.
In the air it uses lateral undulating motion to stabilize itself and glide gracefully before
landing.
So rather than being afraid of snakes, just marvel at HOW FREAKING COOL FLYING SNAKES
ARE.
Even though many snakes are harmless to humans, our fear of them remains strong.
Why are we all so afraid of snakes?
Amy finds out in this episode right here