How the heck do snakes move?

I mean, think about it. If you were to lie down on the ground right now and start, I don't know, wriggling, you wouldn't really get anywhere at all, would you?

So how do snakes do it? Why don't they just flop around uselessly?

How can it possibly be that, for example, the Black Mamba can quote unquote outrun some people without having feet.

It's like magic that they can move at all, but it's a miracle that some snakes can move with speed, efficiency, and control.

Now, maybe you already know how snakes slither across the ground, and you can skip the explanation

for that I'll give later, but can you explain how they climb trees? Can you explain how they jump?

Can you explain how they glide? In 20 minutes, you are going to be able to explain all of that and more, because today we are going to learn about a species of flying snake.

An animal that can outglide flying squirrels, an animal that can leap from heights as tall as five stories and glide distances longer than the width of an Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Today we are going to learn about an animal that, in loose terms, can walk without feet, climb without hands, and fly without wings. The Paradise Flying Snake,

Chrysopalea, paradisi. I'm Mackin. This is Species.

Hello and happy Species Sunday, or happy whatever day you're listening to this.

Today I'm going to make you an expert on the Paradise Flying Snake and explain to you how snakes can move across the ground, up trees, and through the air.

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If you want to get in touch, send me a tweet at Mac and Murphy. Thank you, Eric and the animals for playing me in.

And now, without further ado, I present to you the Paradise Flying Snake.

When talk about something as mystifying as snake movement, it's always best to start from the ground up.

So let us begin on the ground with our fantastic subject, the Paradise Flying Snake.

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