Meeting Abstract
Nearly all vertebrate gliders land by using their limbs to arrest their glide. Being limbless, flying snakes (genus: Chrysopelea) must land by contacting the substrate with the trunk of the body or the tail, potentially leading to injury. A key feature of the gliding system in snakes is dorsoventral flattening from head to vent. This flattening occurs as the snake takes off to enter the air, but it is unclear when the snake returns to its rounded shape, either before, during, or after landing. A flattened shape during landing would increase the surface area of contact, reducing the force of impact and potentially improving the grip for successful landing. However, a flattened shape would also expose the viscera to near-direct contact with the substrate. A rounded shape during landing would better protect the viscera with the ribs, but may increase the total impact force experienced during landing, and reduce grip. To investigate the shape of the snake’s body during landing, we recorded landings in short trajectories to a horizontal pole using three high-speed cameras. Data from 28 successful landings of 5 individuals (C. paradisi) was analyzed. In all landings, the body was dorsoventrally flattened at the time of impact, maintaining the glide configuration of the body. The remaining body did not swing passively around the landing pole, suggesting that the trunk stiffens actively by muscle activation after landing. In most landings (~70%), when contact occurred the snake underwent further dorsoventral compression, likely an inertial effect accompanied by flexing of the rib cage. This study suggests that flying snakes do not prepare for landing on an arboreal substrate, and absorb impact energy locally in the region of contact. Supported partially by 1351322.
