Scientists solve the mystery of flying snake "flying"

You may not be able to imagine how snakes can "fly" like birds without wings or wing membrane-like appendages. However, scientists have found that some snakes can not only fly, but also be good at flying.

The flying snake shakes its ribs to produce power.

Jack Sokka of the University of Chicago has been studying the flying ability of snakes for eight years. Recently, Sokka revealed in a professional magazine why Flying Snake is good at flying. "although flying snakes lack wing membrane-like appendages, they are still highly skilled 'flying athletes'," he said. "

In terms of flying ability, flying snakes combine the characteristics of birds, insects, bats, squirrels and even ants. But what is the flying principle of the flying snake? Sokka said: "first of all, when the flying snake 'flies', the whole body will wobble or twist, and there will be changes between its head and tail." Snakes are made up of bodies and tails, and their ribs reach to the tail. Flying snakes shake their ribs so that they can fly like flying saucers in form. " In terms of aerodynamics, this makes them suitable for taxiing.

The body bends into an S shape to keep it stable.

Sokka explained: "as flying snakes begin to fall, their heads keep swinging from side to side, causing their bodies to bend into an'S 'shape in the air. The flying snake can also keep its body parallel to the ground. " Because they have no wings, flying snakes control their flight patterns by taxiing in the air. By bending the body into an "S" shape, the flying snake maintains the stability of its flight in the air. It's like a tightrope walker swinging from side to side to keep his balance.

In order to be able to land from the air to the ground, flying snakes either hang upside down from the branches, looking for a comfortable landing site, and then fall, or their bodies bounce out of the branches, which will cause them to rise to higher heights and glide farther away. Sokka is not sure why Flying Snake developed its gliding ability, but he believes that Flying Snake is doing this to save energy. Sokka explained: "if you are in a big tree and want to get to another big tree 50 feet away, you have to come down from the tree, walk close to that tree, and then climb up."

Individual flying snakes can change direction during flight.

Sokka found that Paradise Tree Snake seemed to be the only flying snake that could change course during flight. "I know some clues about how the flying snake changes direction, but I don't know much about it," he said. When flying snakes change direction, it seems that flying snakes really start to change direction only when their heads point in the direction they want to change. " Sokka also studied the golden snake. Both the golden flower snake and the Paradise Tree Snake live in the lowland rainforests of South and Southeast Asia.

Most flying snakes can grow to three or four feet long, except for three kinds of flying snakes. They can secrete a venom that does not contain harmful substances, but this venom only threatens the safety of small animals such as birds, frogs and bats, so flying snakes are officially listed as harmless to humans.