Zoological Glossary:

Sidewinding

A mode of locomotion in which a snake raises its body in loops and rests its weight on two or three points that are the only places where the body contacts the ground. The loops are swung forward through the air while the points of contact are moved smoothly along the body length. This locomotion is characteristic of snakes that live in deserts where sandy substrates have particles that slip and induce sliding during serpentine locomotion.


 
 
 

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Zoological Glossary. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Copyright © 2005 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more

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