Lasso locomotion expands the climbing repertoire of snakes.

Lasso locomotion expands the climbing repertoire of snakes. Curr Biol. 2021 Jan 11;31(1):R7-R8 Authors: Savidge JA, Seibert TF, Kastner M, Jayne BC Abstract The diverse ways and environments in which animals move are correlated with morphology1, but morphology is not sufficient to predict how animals move because behavioral innovations can create new capacities. We document a new mode of snake locomotion - 'lasso locomotion' - that allows the brown treesnake (Boiga irregularis) to ascend much larger smooth cylinders than any previously known behavior. This lasso locomotion may facilitate exploiting resources that might otherwise be unobtainable and contribute to the success and impact of this highly invasive species. VIDEO ABSTRACT. PMID: 33434490 [PubMed - in process]
Source: Current Biology - Category: Biology Authors: Tags: Curr Biol Source Type: research