Living reptile: the locomotion of snakes

This study of snake locomotion opens by showing the typical four-legged method of locomotion of animals and how it is related to the serpentine motion of the snake. Described in detail are the serpentine motion, employed by all snakes; the caterpillar motion used by some such as the Reticulated Python and the Puff Adder; the side-winding motion used chiefly by heaby-bodied desert snakes, and the hitch-and-hike or concertina method used by some snakes in climbing trees.