True Facts: How Snakes Move

The first 150 people to sign up will get their first month free as a special welcome gift!

Many thanks to:

Matej Dolinay & Zuzana Dolinay, Living Zoology
Dr. David Penning, Missouri Southern State University
Dr. Bill Ryerson, Cornell University
Dr. Jake Socha, Virginia Tech
Dr. Henry Astley, The University of Akron
Dr. Rulon Clark, San Diego State University
Dr. Malachi Whitford, Clovis Community College
Grace Freymiller, Clovis Community College
Dr. Noam Miller, Wilfrid Laurier University
Dr. Jennifer Rieser, Emory University
Dr. David Hu, Georgia Institute of Technology

Citations:

Astley HC, et. al. Modulation of orthogonal body waves enables high maneuverability in sidewinding locomotion. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 May 12;112(19):6200-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1418965112.

Byrnes G, Jayne BC. The effects of three-dimensional gap orientation on bridging performance and behavior of brown tree snakes . J Exp Biol. 2012 Aug 1;215(Pt 15):2611-20. doi: 10.1242/jeb.064576.

Byrnes G, Jayne BC. Gripping during climbing of arboreal snakes may be safe but not economical. Biol Lett. 2014 Aug;10(8):20140434. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2014.0434.

Hu DL, Nirody J, Scott T, Shelley MJ. The mechanics of slithering locomotion. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Jun 23;106(25):10081-5. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0812533106.

Jayne BC. What Defines Different Modes of Snake Locomotion? Integr Comp Biol. 2020 Jul 1;60(1):156-170. doi: 10.1093/icb/icaa017.

Jayne BC, Herrmann MP. Perch size and structure have species-dependent effects on the arboreal locomotion of rat snakes and boa constrictors. doi: 10.1242/jeb.055293.

Jayne BC, Newman SJ, Zentkovich MM, Berns HM. Why arboreal snakes should not be cylindrical: body shape, incline and surface roughness have interactive effects on locomotion. doi: 10.1242/jeb.129379.

Jayne BC, Riley MA. Scaling of the axial morphology and gap-bridging ability of the brown tree snake, Boiga irregularis. J Exp Biol. 2007 Apr;210(Pt 7):1148-60. doi: 10.1242/jeb.002493.

Jorgensen RM, Jayne BC. Three-dimensional trajectories affect the epaxial muscle activity of arboreal snakes crossing gaps. J Exp Biol. 2017 Oct 1;220(Pt 19):3545-3555. doi: 10.1242/jeb.164640. Epub 2017 Aug 7.

Krishnan, Anush & Socha, John & Vlachos, Pavlos & Barba, Lorena. (2013). Lift and wakes of flying snakes. Physics of Fluids. 26. 10.1063/1.4866444.

Marvi H, Hu DL. Friction enhancement in concertina locomotion of snakes. J R Soc Interface. 2012 Nov 7;9(76):3067-80. doi: 10.1098/rsif.2012.0132.

Newman SJ, Jayne BC. Crawling without wiggling: muscular mechanisms and kinematics of rectilinear locomotion in boa constrictors. doi: 10.1242/jeb.166199.

Wu W, Yu S, Schreiber P, Dollmann A, Lutz C, Gomard G, Greiner C, Hölscher H. Variation of the frictional anisotropy on ventral scales of snakes caused by nanoscale steps. Bioinspir Biomim. 2020 Aug 12;15(5):056014. doi: 10.1088/1748-3190/ab9e51.

[zefrank]

Make a difference with Planet Wild: The first 150 people to sign up will get their first month free as a special welcome gift. And the best part: You’ll already make a real impact in that first month and see the first video report in less than 30 days.

[MnemonicHorse]

"The brown tree snake- just kidding."
Okay, that got me

[AngryDuck]

"It almost looks like it has arms but they're inside of a sleeping bag"

This is legit the best way I've ever seen it described.

[puglife]

I’m gonna hold him to that claim that sea snakes are getting their own episode.

[Eloraurora]

I love imagining how overformal the description of "tickled boa's tail to keep it moving" ended up in the final paper.

[Greg_Rock]

I had no idea some snakes could move like aerodynamic boomerang noodles. Incredible.

[DanGamingFan]

Brown tree snakes are such overachievers. No wonder they're wreaking havoc on the native wildlife of Guam. Also, I'm holding him to sea snakes getting their own episode.

[hikingglint]

Really didn't expect a snake to tie itself into a knot just to shimmy up a pole. Damn, that's smart.

[JimPekarek]

As someone with a pet ball python, they don't hatch with great control over their movement. The amount of times my derpy noodle fell over or needed to be saved from tumbling off the couch in the first year or two was ridiculous.

[CallMeMimi]

"I can't stop! you can't make me!"
Frank, dear. I don't want you to stop! go full throttle with the puns!! go overboard!

[michaelantosch]

The pole climb is always one of the most competitive events in the Snake Olympics. The Boa Scooch, the Loopy-Loopy, the good, solid grippage of the Ring-Dingy, the Lasso-Tail Girth Pole Shimmy. Some incredible technique displayed there by all competitors.

[Zanthum]

My favorite new fact: a snake has between 10 and 15, 000 muscles. I'd like to see the snake with 10 muscles please.

[ThatNaelis]

Even my corn snake pet surprises me with how well it can climb surfaces taller than it. Snake movement is usually so slow you forget they're like 90% muscle mass. 😂

[pigeongod]

Love how some snakes just go *screw it, we goin sideways*

[skipmage]

Cannot wait for the Creepy Dave.
"This is best favourite animal san-ke, many danger noodle give strong kisses."

[melissaharris]

I knew snakes could move in all sorts of interesting ways; I'd even seen the fancy falling ones before, but the "scouch up the tree by knotting/holding their tail" was new to me. Thanks as always Zee for informing me of just _how_ awesomely weird nature can be.

[Duckofdoom]

Jerry missed a good rectal joke opportunity at 9:30. Jerry's slipping, just like all these snakes.

[GippyHappy]

My favorite jokes in these video aren't even the ones about boners or farts or whatever, it's when he's like "The brown friggin tree snake, showing off!" or "The brown tree sn- just kidding" like he's got personal beef with the animals

[Nthsey]

5:07 new fear unlocked:

*FLYING DESERT SNAKE*

[sarahwatts]

A Ze Frank video bingo card would include a square that says "buttholes mentioned at least 3 times"