This Snake Rolls at 8 Miles Per Hour to Escape Predators, but Its Head Stays Pointed Forward

This Snake Rolls at 8 Miles Per Hour to Escape Predators, but Its Head Stays Pointed Forward

Learn how the dwarf reedsnake uniquely manipulates its body to roll away from its predators.

Rolling Snakes Reinvent The Wheel

For eons, roly-polies have rightfully dominated the rolling space, at least in our imagination. The crustaceans' astonishing ability to transform from a legged arthropod into a perfect sphere, a behavior called volvation, earned the bugs their nickname. But the bugs are far from the only rollers in the animal kingdom. Pangolins, hedgehogs, echidnas, and armadillos do it too, curling up their bodies into defensive balls. So does the Venezuelan pe…

Rolling without wheels: How dwarf reedsnakes coordinate their bodies for high-speed escapes

Small snakes called dwarf reedsnakes can escape danger by rolling rapidly along the ground. Researchers investigated how they perform this unusual form of locomotion using multi-angle video analyses. The results show that the snakes use precisely coordinated body movements that keep their heads facing the direction of travel and at a relatively stable height, even as the posterior body undergoes large rotational movements.

This snake cartwheels to escape danger

Watch a dwarf reed snake make its dizzying getaway in slow-motion.

These tiny snakes cartwheel to escape danger

New videos offer a closer look at a rare and bizarre escape behavior in some Southeast Asian snakes.