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If you look on the bellies of snakes, they have a row of wide scales all the way down their bodies. These scales are called scutes. Snakes have a very complex muscle system that incorporates these scutes into their movement. They have literally hundreds of ribs, each with its own muscles. They have one pair of ribs for every scute. These ribs can move individually and can therefore control the scute below. To put it simply, they use their ribs to move these scutes, which push back on the ground, thus moving them forward. It is a very primitive, yet very efficient, form of moevment.

I should mention that this is how MOST snakes move. Sidewinders, for example, move very differently and don't slither at all.

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12y ago

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