how can snakes move so fast but dont have lehs?

Answer 1

MSN Encarta had this to say:

"Despite their lack of legs, snakes have several highly efficient methods of locomotion. The most common type of snake movement is called lateral undulation, or serpentine movement. In this style of movement, a snake alternately tightens and relaxes a set of muscles along each side of its body to produce horizontal waves that travel down the body. At the same time, the snake orients itself so that its tail pushes against a resisting force, such as land, water, or tree branches. Moving in this way, some snakes achieve speeds up to 10 km/h (6 mph).

Many tree-climbing snakes, such as tropical American tree boas, make use of concertina, or earthworm, movement. These snakes coil their tails around a tree, then hook their necks into a higher part of the tree and pull the rest of their bodies up behind them. Large snakes, such as pythons, use rectilinear locomotion, in which they extend the scales beneath their bellies into the ground and push against them with their ribs. A dramatic form of snake locomotion is sidewinding, in which a snake makes an arc with the front part of its body and hurls its head forward, so that it travels through the air before touching the sand. The snake then brings the rear part of its body in line with its head before generating another arc. Sidewinding is typically used by several desert-dwelling vipers, including the aptly named sidewinders. "

I also enclosed a site that shows the different types of movements snakes have: http://www.humboldt.net/~tracker/snake.html

Answer 2

It's a combination of body shape and muscle coordination. Each type of snake will have its own special way of moving, but in general their body shape (the s-like coils) can give them a spring loaded way to jump into action. And their muscles are incredibly agile. Think about it--they can hold themselves up in mid-air with no support but the remaining length of their body against the ground. With such great muscles and gripping scales, pushing themselves along the ground at great speeds probably isn't too difficult.

Answer 3

Ok, theirs two answers for this. Snakes have keeled scales which are indented and holds on to walls And he floor and they also give the snake a push. Thats why snakes could also climb on glass. Another reason they're so fast is that theyre muscles are stong. Hope this helps!
Nick

Answer 4

How Snakes Move

Answer 5

Their slithering produces forward momentum that propels them forward without legs. Of course, you could always ask how we can run so fast and not have tails, and get more in-depth answers... ;)

Answer 6

snakes are mostly made up of muscles..and so they are able to "slither" (for lack of a better word) to where they want to go

Answer 7

muscles are all over their body and they are silky and smooth which helps them glide.

Answer 8

because they slide.
roller skating and running?

Answer 9

oh please