iHerp Australia Issue 11 | Page 50

Limbless Locomotion. Sliding, sidewinding, saltation and more: how serpents have adapted to life without legs. Zoologist and conservation biologist Kit Prendergast tackles the science of slithering.... The Sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes) is named after its preferred method of locomotion, and can ascend steep, sandy dunes without slipping. Image by fivespots.