For many, a slithering snake is scary enough. So how about a snake that glides through the air?
Chrysopelea paradisi — the paradise tree snake — does just that, gliding through the air from trees in South and Southeast Asia.
Little information was known about these snakes, until a research team of scientists at Virginia Tech published a paper on the snakes recently.
Researcher Jake Socha with a snake at Virginia Tech.
These snakes make an undulating motion as they move through the air and researches have long been curious as to how and why they do it.
Snakes undulate while on the ground and they actually do the exact same thing while gliding through the air.
The paradise tree snake lives in South and Southeast Asia.
The research shows that the movements made by the snakes while gliding through the air, keeps them from tumbling and falling to the ground. Plus, this movement allows them to cover more horizontal distance while ‘flying’ through the air.