Why can flying snakes fly? Scientists uncover the mystery

You may find it hard to imagine how snakes, which have neither wings nor wing-membrane-like appendages, can "fly" like birds. Yet scientists have found that some snakes not only fly, but are masters of flight.

Flying snakes generate power by shaking their ribs

Jack Socha of the University of Chicago in the United States has been studying snakes' flying ability for 8 years. Recently, Socha revealed in a professional journal the reason flying snakes are so good at flying. He said: "Although flying snakes lack wing-membrane-like appendages, they are still highly skilled 'flight athletes'."

In terms of flying ability, flying snakes combine the traits of birds, insects, bats, squirrels and even ants. But what is the principle behind how flying snakes fly? Socha said: "First, when flying snakes 'fly', their entire body must swing or twist, and changes must occur between the head and the tail. A snake is made up of a body and a tail, and their ribs extend all the way to the tail. Flying snakes shake their ribs, enabling them to fly in form like a flying saucer." From an aerodynamic perspective, this makes them suited to gliding.

The body bends into an S shape to maintain stability

Socha explained: "When flying snakes begin to fall, their heads keep swaying left and right, which makes their bodies bend into an 'S' shape in the air. Flying snakes can also keep their bodies parallel to the ground." Because they have no wings, flying snakes control their flight patterns through a kind of gliding in the air. By bending their bodies into an "S" shape, flying snakes maintain stability while flying in the air. This is just like a tightrope walker swaying left and right to maintain body balance.

In order to descend from the air to the ground, flying snakes either hang upside down from tree branches, find a comfortable landing point, and then drop; or their bodies push off forcefully from the tree branches, which raises them to a greater height so they can glide farther. Socha is not yet very clear about why flying snakes developed their gliding ability, but he believes flying snakes do this to save energy. Socha explained: "If you are in a large tree and want to get to another large tree 50 feet away, you must first come down from the tree, walk to near that tree, and then climb up."

A few flying snakes can change direction in mid-flight

Socha found that the "paradise tree snake" appears to be the only flying snake that can change direction in mid-flight. He said: "I understand some clues about how flying snakes change direction, but not particularly well. When a flying snake changes direction, it seems that only when its head points in the direction it wants to change to does the flying snake actually begin to change direction." Socha has also studied the golden tree snake. Both this golden tree snake and the "paradise tree snake" live in trees in the lowland tropical rainforests of South Asia and Southeast Asia.

Most flying snakes can grow to three or four feet long, except for only 3 species of flying snakes. They can secrete a venom that contains no harmful substances, but this venom only threatens the safety of small animals such as @#@260@#@, birds, frogs and bats, so flying snakes are officially listed as animals harmless to humans.