Lasso locomotion expands the climbing repertoire of snakes

Julie A Savidge; Thomas F Seibert; Martin Kastner; Bruce C Jayne

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.11.050

Lasso locomotion expands the climbing repertoire of snakes

Curr Biol. 2021 Jan 11;31(1):R7-R8. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.11.050.

Authors

Julie A Savidge¹, Thomas F Seibert², Martin Kastner², Bruce C Jayne³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. Electronic address: Julie.Savidge@colostate.edu.
² Department of Fish, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
³ Department of Biological Sciences, PO Box 210006, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA. Electronic address: jaynebc@ucmail.uc.edu.

PMID: 33434490
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.11.050

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.

Publication types

Letter
Video-Audio Media

MeSH terms

Animal Distribution / physiology
Animals
Colubridae / physiology*
Introduced Species
Locomotion / physiology*