Like human beings or mammals that can walk on their legs, reptiles or snakes cannot walk instead they make use of their body to move. Snake movement can be divided into four types. They are horizontal movement, concertina movement, side movement and rectilinear movement. The most common form of movement that is used by snake is horizontal or lateral movement. In this type of movement, snake tightens and relaxes his muscle in order to produce waves which help him to move.
In doing this process, a snake moves its
body so that the waves that are going back side pushes against something
resistant. Because of this snakes are able to move in areas of roughness which
give them some kind of grip.
The next type of movement is concertina
movement which a snake usually adopts while moving within close walls. In this
snake moves its fore-part of the body and pulls the rest of its body. This
helps the snake to move in close tunnels or within closed walls.
The third type of movement is side
winding movement which snakes adopt while moving on sand or other surfaces
which offer no resistant. In this, snake turns its whole body in s- shape
.Because of this, only two points of its body comes into contact with the
ground. It then shifts the contact to its back side causing the snake to move.
The last type of movement is called
rectilinear movement in which the snake slides its back and forth and this type
of movement is possible only in rattlesnakes and boas.