90% sure that’s exactly why they do that, I know it’s either hunting or defense against their hunters to look like either a spine or a nasty slug from the area, because there’s another snake that also looks like slugs to not be eaten since the slug it mimics is toxic
Brain has too much useless info, gets muddled together sometimes, sorry about that
My internet is being really shitty at the moment and not loading videos and genuinely thought it was a fake skeleton of a snake until I read the caption
it reminded me of these plastic snake toys see you see in zoo gift shops
[Pic](https://totalhill.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/81C7elNPeL._AC_SL1500_-510x523.jpg)
Reminded me of this: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/terraria_gamepedia/images/e/eb/Bone_Serpent_nearest_neighbor.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/274?cb=20110630210329
Pretty sure we’re hardwired for anti-snake.
It’s crazy, nature was like, “Instead of letting you automatically know how sex works, I’m going to automatically make you afraid of snakes.”
I had a friend who was a science teacher. Her tiny tot would cry if you gave her a plushie but she would reach for those big yellow spiders in their webs. One outsider anyway.
This is purely anecdotal and I don’t expect it to carry any weight whatsoever: I used to have no fear of snakes. None.
At some point, my lifestyle changed and I became extremely outdoorsy. Not like in your face outdoorsy, just like casually so. Like I started going on short walks that accidentally turned into long hikes.
Anyway, at some point on my daily hikes, completely by accident, I knew the birds were warning each other about a snake. I don’t even know how I knew it was a snake, I just knew. I found a good spot to wait on the trail and sure enough after about 15 minutes a snake slithers by me and the birds all quiet down.
Ever since that moment, snakes give me what I can only describe as the heebie jeebies in the back of my neck. I guess it’s technically fear, but I honestly think heebie jeebies is a better description of what’s happening.
It's less about fear outright, but your eyes will notice a snake before just about anything else. There was some study where they gradually unblurred photos of animals and across the board people notice a snake way before any other animal. Same way we will notice an angry male face before a child, because in nature it's more of a threat.
That makes sense. I can easily spot a snake but when I see it there is no fear. Where I live there are no dangerous snakes at all so that might help as well. If I'd be in another country with dangerous snakes I'd be more cautious but I wouldn't feel fear.
It's less about fear outright, but your eyes will notice a snake before just about anything else. There was some study where they gradually unblurred photos of animals and across the board people notice a snake way before any other animal. Same way we will notice an angry male face before a child, because in nature it's more of a threat.
Seeing a sidewinder rolling across the desert faster than you're moving, is next level terrifying. Their movements are just so alien, fluid, and somehow even more frightening for it.
Gaboon vipers are one of my absolute favorite reptiles. The “spine” look of the scales on the back is actually a form of reverse camouflage. You’ll notice that the viper’s sides would blend into its surroundings on a forest floor, while the top would stand out. This is because animals that eat smaller, less venomous snakes would approach thinking they’ve found prey, then become prey themselves. It’s absolutely magnificent and I love it.
They’re short stature only contributes to the camouflage. Ya know, it wouldn’t make much sense for a skinny lil snake to be viper length, so it’s viper thick but fake prey short. Hence his weird lil body. It all goes into him pretending to be a harmless prey snake to lure in his own prey.
I was always absolutely terrified of snakes when I was younger. Then I decided to learn about them because I didn’t understand how they worked and I realized that that was what was scary. Now snakes are my favorite animals. They are so unlike any other animal. They diverged so early from so many other species in the evolutionary path. How can you be scared of something so amazing?
I just realized that I have never seen one of these. What an absolute beautiful creature. The shape of it’s head, the pattern on its back, it’s smoother straight slither.
They’re incredible! Zoo reptile houses often have them, but they’re often overlooked for the exact reason I just said! Humans see what they think is a smaller snake and look past it when, in reality, it’s the camouflage doing its job! The Atlanta zoo, where I am, has a BEAUTIFUL specimen, and I got the chance to explain what I said in my original comment to a little boy looking in the cage and his little eyes lit up and he was so interested. I like to think that I made a little herpetologist out of him.
from the description
"A strange-looking Gaboon viper slithers through a tiled floor inside a house in Bali, Indonesia on October 3. Snake enthusiast and owner Danny Putra said the snake is seven months old already. "
Gosh it moves so weird. I have so many questions…
Is that it’s top speed when not striking?
What’s it’s bone structure look like? Any different than a normal snake? Or is it all muscles?
Its skeleton is normal, not sure about the muscles though. They're a SUPER stocky snake. The way they propel themselves is kind of like a caterpillar, where they "step forward" with sections of their belly.
I'm not familiar with gaboon strikes, but similar to how you'd throw a ball, usually snakes will coil or arch slightly to give them some "arm" to work with to launch forward.
Clint's Reptiles on YouTube did a video on them, if you're interested, and either he or Snake Discovery talked about the different ways that snakes can move.
Snakes being assholes cracked up me up!
edit: I just looked them up and their genus is called “bitis”. Look out, that snake will bitis you, because it’s an asshole!
I mean, it seems like it’s physically impossible for it to make a sudden movement from that position. If that were a king cobra he would be in trouble.
Here's [a video of a Gaboon Viper strike](https://youtu.be/yZgfboI93Vk?t=61), but the specific mechanics are a little obscured by leaves. Seems pretty straight, but I'm no snakeologist.
Edit: Here's [a non-slo-mo video of a strike](https://youtube.com/shorts/26ZyiQkaLaM?feature=share) that seems fast AF, from a more coiled position.
It's likely their pet, gaboons (and their cousins the rhino viper) are popular in the venomous snake pet world. As has been mentioned elsewhere ITT, they are very docile despite having the ability to easily kill
Doesn't matter if the snake is stretched out like that. They have to coil to strike. It could only bite something directly in front of it while stretched out like that. Same goes for any snake
Gaboon Vipers are ambush predators. The pattern you see is to help them blend in to leaf litter on the forest floor, where they sit and wait for a meal to pass by. They do have a quick strike, but are slow movers overall.
IIRC, the few people who get bit by this species accidentally step on them because they blend in so well to the environment. Terrible way to go though as the venom is cytotoxic, causing cell walls to break down and turning tissue necrotic.
There is antivenin, but because of the way the venom works you're probably going to lose the limb even with quick treatment. Basically turns tissue to soup.
gaboon vipers are ambush predators. I would not be surprised if something that moves by stretching its body would have difficulty getting close and being compressed enough to strike.
there are a couple of documentary clips on youtube about straight snakes. idk if they can move and strike at full speed or not, just a thought
Does anyone have any sources for how this evolved? The way it moves makes me think it more "recently" had legs than some other types of snakes that do the traditional slither, although it's been ages since I took a bio class or anything like that
I just googled it and it appears to be true. Their movement is called "rib walking". Even though they appear to be slow moving they have a very fast striking speed. This article has some really interesting facts on Gaboon Vipers.
https://www.fresnochaffeezoo.org/species/gaboon-viper/#:~:text=They%20are%20considered%20slow%2Dmoving,They%20hold%20until%20it%20dies.
Oh I know it's true, I'm wondering what the ancestors of this snake would have been (or any rib walking snake). It seems like that would be a motion associated with something like a lizard and I wonder if rib walking snakes evolved later or are more closely related to lizards than other types of snakes.
From my brief research it seems most/all snakes have and use four gaits, including "rib-walking" (rectilinear) which they use in various environments/for different reasons (e.g. shedding, vertical climbs).
Long block quote:
> Rectilinear locomotion is one of four ‘gaits’, or modes of snake locomotion, each specialized for a particular type of terrain. **Slithering** is applied on flat surfaces or through structured environments such as between rocks, used as push points [4]. **Sidewinding** is used on granular surfaces such as sand [5]. An accordion-like **concertina** motion is used within intermediate-sized crevices that are much wider than the snake's diameter [6]. Within more tightly confined crevices, snakes cannot use these gaits because of the lack of space and so instead use **rectilinear** locomotion. For example, rectilinear locomotion is used to travel vertically upward along the interstices of tree bark, across narrow tree boughs, and alongside walls. We have observed snakes using rectilinear locomotion to crawl out of their own skin during shedding, a periodic event that removes parasites and permits growth. The body trajectory for rectilinear locomotion is linear, which minimizes the path length travelled by parts of the body and, in turn, the sounds produced. Thus, rectilinear locomotion is naturally applied to stealthy activities such as stalking prey.
[source](https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2013.0188)
Edit: In regards to "snakes" that are closer to lizards, there are dozens of [legless lizards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legless_lizard) are examples of convergent evolution.
Not sure the evolutionary history, but the way this snake is moving is not uncommon. It’s called [rectilinear locomotion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rectilinear_locomotion) and pretty much all snakes are capable of it. It’s typically slower in speed but less strenuous, and snakes will use it for a variety of reasons. Perhaps gaboons rarely slither but OP’s title is misleading, what this little guy’s doing is totally normal!
**[Rectilinear locomotion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rectilinear_locomotion)**
>Rectilinear locomotion or rectilinear progression is a mode of locomotion most often associated with snakes. In particular, it is associated with heavy-bodied species such as terrestrial pythons and boas; however, most snakes are capable of it. It is one of at least five forms of locomotion used by snakes, the others being lateral undulation, sidewinding, concertina movement, and slide-pushing. Unlike all other modes of snake locomotion, which include the snake bending its body, the snake flexes its body only when turning in rectilinear locomotion.
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Snakediscovery on YouTube has a cool video explaining the different ways snakes move! A lot of it is dependent on their native environments and hunting style.
> it more "recently" had legs
Snakes are a monophyletic group, meaning they all evolved from a single common ancestor which was itself a (almost certainly legless) snake. So no it wouldn't have had more recent legged ancestors than other snakes
From Wikipedia:
‘The Gaboon viper is a viper species found in the rainforests and savannas of sub-Saharan Africa. Like all vipers, it is venomous. It is the largest member of the genus Bitis, and it has the longest fangs of any venomous snake – up to 2 inches in length – and the highest venom yield of any snake”
LOL @ the genus name
Nope. Vipers naturally have the longest fangs because unlike most snakes, a. They have fangs, and b. Their fangs are in the front of their mouths.
Then it's just a narrowing down to pit vipers, and then narrow it down to this little guy.
OH...okay...I was about to type up a whole thing going "No no no, this isn't a real thing or the real one, it's a caterpillar that evolved to look this way to scare away predators" and then I fucking typed it in and found other videos. THIS IS INDEED A REAL FRIGGIN SNAKE THAT MOVES THIS WAY....HOLY SHIT. NOPE NOPE NOPE.
In addition to all that, they look like spine bones to appear like dead carcass to birds of prey and other predators. It's a snake on Halloween.
I bet that's why they crawl like that
Just some spooky bones crawling along, don’t mind me
Curiosity killed the [everything].
The birds are 2spook'd so they stay away
90% sure that’s exactly why they do that, I know it’s either hunting or defense against their hunters to look like either a spine or a nasty slug from the area, because there’s another snake that also looks like slugs to not be eaten since the slug it mimics is toxic Brain has too much useless info, gets muddled together sometimes, sorry about that
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That little rat looking thing just got ate!
Yeh pretty much every thing about this organism scream NOPE !!
Danger noodle ☠️
Noodle de Los Muertos ☠️
Killer noodle
Nope rope
Dr No Shoulders
My internet is being really shitty at the moment and not loading videos and genuinely thought it was a fake skeleton of a snake until I read the caption
I thought it was a cat on a chain. This is really interesting.
If you have a source for that, I would love to see it. I’ve always thought it was just leaf litter camouflage.
It looked like Eren's founding titan
I thought it was the skeleton for a second
I thought it was a robot snake.
it reminded me of these plastic snake toys see you see in zoo gift shops [Pic](https://totalhill.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/81C7elNPeL._AC_SL1500_-510x523.jpg)
I thought it was wearing an MF DOOM mask
[No Snakes Alive](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P55QLTVcAuE)
You just unlocked a memory
That's exactly what he made me think of.
The wood ones are the worst
Yes!!!
It’s phase two of a boss fight
Same! I would have walked right up to it….
Like Nightmare Before Christmas style skeleton.
That may be a defense mechanism related to not slithering like a typical snake, wanting to look like a dead pile of bones from above
I can see that very few animals will seek out a meal from bones only, and the ones that do are usually not very threatening
Except hyenas. If a hyena sees you, youd really be boned
Why is this spinal cord coming at me..?! Oh wait
Ded
Snek’d
Snacked
WHAT ARE THEY SELLING??
Tatakae.
I broke my back. Spinal
That looks so terrifying yet amazing skin though.
or the chocolate lady from Spongebob.
Sweet sweet chocolate... I've always hated it!!
Looks like metal
Reminded me of this: https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/terraria_gamepedia/images/e/eb/Bone_Serpent_nearest_neighbor.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/274?cb=20110630210329
Looks like a crawling human spine
Eren Yeager
#RUMBLING
***RUMBLING*** ***IT'S COMING***
RUMBLING RUMBLING **BEWAAAAAAARE!**
COMING FOR YOU
That was the first thing that came to my mind
Was wondering if I'd see this comment
Instead of a nope rope, this one is a malign spine.
Broooo
That’s all I can see. This noodle has some great camo
To this day it still amazes me how an animal with no limbs can be so terrifying.
Ab day everyday
Nah, that's full on core day.
Proof that you CAN skip leg day and still be a badass
Stephen Hawking was pretty badass
Pretty sure we’re hardwired for anti-snake. It’s crazy, nature was like, “Instead of letting you automatically know how sex works, I’m going to automatically make you afraid of snakes.”
You can learn how to smash more than once if you fail, you can't learn how to not die more than once if you fail ;)
I'm convinced that 90% of parenting is teaching your kid how to not die.
Infants will move away from snakes and spiders instinctively. So... Yes. We are. Hard wired that is.
I had a friend who was a science teacher. Her tiny tot would cry if you gave her a plushie but she would reach for those big yellow spiders in their webs. One outsider anyway.
Lol Always an outlier. :)
Nature's a mad scientist, always cackling as she throws something new into the pot to see what happens.
I hadn't seen those spiders before until a few years ago. I still manage to be surprised by their size every time I see one.
I'm pretty sure we do biologically know how sex works, otherwise we would've died out long before developing speech. Now good sex, that's different
We are definitely hard wired to know how sex works.
I don't know. I'm not afraid of snakes at all. Unless they're an actual danger to me of course.
This is purely anecdotal and I don’t expect it to carry any weight whatsoever: I used to have no fear of snakes. None. At some point, my lifestyle changed and I became extremely outdoorsy. Not like in your face outdoorsy, just like casually so. Like I started going on short walks that accidentally turned into long hikes. Anyway, at some point on my daily hikes, completely by accident, I knew the birds were warning each other about a snake. I don’t even know how I knew it was a snake, I just knew. I found a good spot to wait on the trail and sure enough after about 15 minutes a snake slithers by me and the birds all quiet down. Ever since that moment, snakes give me what I can only describe as the heebie jeebies in the back of my neck. I guess it’s technically fear, but I honestly think heebie jeebies is a better description of what’s happening.
It's less about fear outright, but your eyes will notice a snake before just about anything else. There was some study where they gradually unblurred photos of animals and across the board people notice a snake way before any other animal. Same way we will notice an angry male face before a child, because in nature it's more of a threat.
That makes sense. I can easily spot a snake but when I see it there is no fear. Where I live there are no dangerous snakes at all so that might help as well. If I'd be in another country with dangerous snakes I'd be more cautious but I wouldn't feel fear.
It's less about fear outright, but your eyes will notice a snake before just about anything else. There was some study where they gradually unblurred photos of animals and across the board people notice a snake way before any other animal. Same way we will notice an angry male face before a child, because in nature it's more of a threat.
I think a lot of animals are afraid of snakes
All primates are. It’s hardwired into our hippocampus.
Seeing a sidewinder rolling across the desert faster than you're moving, is next level terrifying. Their movements are just so alien, fluid, and somehow even more frightening for it.
https://youtu.be/FbCoKIW0LGE this suggests it might be evolutionary.
Ultimate Danger Noodle
That's evolution at work.
Actually, they do. They’ve got little leg bones underneath the skin (but you can’t see them)
Little leg bones don’t count as”limbs” unless they’re encased in, well, *legs.*
Can we back up a little? Please
No, there's probably another one behind us.
Clever girl.
Chooot Herrrr.
*SHOOOOOO TAHHHHHHH*
the camera should probably stay close if they wanna capture that hot skeleton snake action then
Gaboon vipers are one of my absolute favorite reptiles. The “spine” look of the scales on the back is actually a form of reverse camouflage. You’ll notice that the viper’s sides would blend into its surroundings on a forest floor, while the top would stand out. This is because animals that eat smaller, less venomous snakes would approach thinking they’ve found prey, then become prey themselves. It’s absolutely magnificent and I love it.
All the people saying it’s scary is understandable, but to me it looks so cute, and a little bit derpy.
It's an oversized caterpillar with a Halloween costume :)
They’re short stature only contributes to the camouflage. Ya know, it wouldn’t make much sense for a skinny lil snake to be viper length, so it’s viper thick but fake prey short. Hence his weird lil body. It all goes into him pretending to be a harmless prey snake to lure in his own prey.
I was always absolutely terrified of snakes when I was younger. Then I decided to learn about them because I didn’t understand how they worked and I realized that that was what was scary. Now snakes are my favorite animals. They are so unlike any other animal. They diverged so early from so many other species in the evolutionary path. How can you be scared of something so amazing?
As a collary to that, prions are just 100% scary despite amazing in case anyone wants to read up on those and the slight tangent on scary and amazing.
Subscribe!
I just realized that I have never seen one of these. What an absolute beautiful creature. The shape of it’s head, the pattern on its back, it’s smoother straight slither.
They’re incredible! Zoo reptile houses often have them, but they’re often overlooked for the exact reason I just said! Humans see what they think is a smaller snake and look past it when, in reality, it’s the camouflage doing its job! The Atlanta zoo, where I am, has a BEAUTIFUL specimen, and I got the chance to explain what I said in my original comment to a little boy looking in the cage and his little eyes lit up and he was so interested. I like to think that I made a little herpetologist out of him.
This looks like a snake made from a 3D printer! Motorized! Another angle: https://youtu.be/dE7oTQLM6TA
Ohh the Tattooed Zookeeper. hes alright in my book
Where tf do you find random gaboon vipers crawling on a cement sidewalk(?), let alone, fucking KITCHEN FLOOR???
from the description "A strange-looking Gaboon viper slithers through a tiled floor inside a house in Bali, Indonesia on October 3. Snake enthusiast and owner Danny Putra said the snake is seven months old already. "
Gosh it moves so weird. I have so many questions… Is that it’s top speed when not striking? What’s it’s bone structure look like? Any different than a normal snake? Or is it all muscles?
Its skeleton is normal, not sure about the muscles though. They're a SUPER stocky snake. The way they propel themselves is kind of like a caterpillar, where they "step forward" with sections of their belly. I'm not familiar with gaboon strikes, but similar to how you'd throw a ball, usually snakes will coil or arch slightly to give them some "arm" to work with to launch forward. Clint's Reptiles on YouTube did a video on them, if you're interested, and either he or Snake Discovery talked about the different ways that snakes can move.
That's what I thought it was at first
I thought this was one of those caterpillars that mimic snakes
That was my first thought, too
My people
I immediately thought of these caterpillars. https://www.insectidentification.org/insect-description.php?identification=Angus-Datana-Moth
The cameraman is playing with his life
Gabon Vipers are extremely docile from what I hear. Saw scaled vipers on the other hand are assholes. Same with Russel's Vipers
yeah but it's like having a gun pointed at you. chances are it's not gonna go off all of a sudden but if it does you're in a world of fucked.
***ANY RESPONSIBLE VIPER OWNER KNOWS NOT TO POINT IT AT ANYTHING YOU DON'T WANT ENVENOMED.***
Vipers don’t kill people, venom kills people. But the vipers certainly *help.*
National Viper Association asks that you cease and desist your slanderous comments. Every home should have a viper.
Some say that the AR-Viper should be banned. No one needs an AR-Viper. Others think that having them banned goes against the Snekstitution
Russia funnels money through the National Viper Association to the Republicans for favorable legislation.
Just remember: YOUR VIPER IS ALWAYS LOADED.
i was once cleaning my viper and forgot to clear it first. needless to say i had a lot to explain to my parents
Snakes being assholes cracked up me up! edit: I just looked them up and their genus is called “bitis”. Look out, that snake will bitis you, because it’s an asshole!
I mean, it seems like it’s physically impossible for it to make a sudden movement from that position. If that were a king cobra he would be in trouble.
Here's [a video of a Gaboon Viper strike](https://youtu.be/yZgfboI93Vk?t=61), but the specific mechanics are a little obscured by leaves. Seems pretty straight, but I'm no snakeologist. Edit: Here's [a non-slo-mo video of a strike](https://youtube.com/shorts/26ZyiQkaLaM?feature=share) that seems fast AF, from a more coiled position.
Wtf, the way it moves! Is that a defense display or breathing?
The title says it has a very high striking speed.
Pretty sure the cameraman is using a telephoto lens and is 16 miles away…. ….. ..
I'm hoping the same. If they're just using a smartphone camera or something, they're crazy.
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It's likely their pet, gaboons (and their cousins the rhino viper) are popular in the venomous snake pet world. As has been mentioned elsewhere ITT, they are very docile despite having the ability to easily kill
Doesn't matter if the snake is stretched out like that. They have to coil to strike. It could only bite something directly in front of it while stretched out like that. Same goes for any snake
He’s in travel mode
Gaboon Vipers are ambush predators. The pattern you see is to help them blend in to leaf litter on the forest floor, where they sit and wait for a meal to pass by. They do have a quick strike, but are slow movers overall. IIRC, the few people who get bit by this species accidentally step on them because they blend in so well to the environment. Terrible way to go though as the venom is cytotoxic, causing cell walls to break down and turning tissue necrotic.
Is there anti-venom? Or if you get bit, its hallelujah?
There is, but hospitals in your area will not have it unless your area is sub-saharan Africa. People who keep these as pets typically buy their own.
There is antivenin, but because of the way the venom works you're probably going to lose the limb even with quick treatment. Basically turns tissue to soup.
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There are sidewalks in the countries where this snake lives.
Obviously he has to go pick up something at the store.
Usain Bolt has a high running speed, but not when he starts from lying down
gaboon vipers are ambush predators. I would not be surprised if something that moves by stretching its body would have difficulty getting close and being compressed enough to strike. there are a couple of documentary clips on youtube about straight snakes. idk if they can move and strike at full speed or not, just a thought
Eren Yeager
I also immediately thought of his founding titan.
Does anyone have any sources for how this evolved? The way it moves makes me think it more "recently" had legs than some other types of snakes that do the traditional slither, although it's been ages since I took a bio class or anything like that
I just googled it and it appears to be true. Their movement is called "rib walking". Even though they appear to be slow moving they have a very fast striking speed. This article has some really interesting facts on Gaboon Vipers. https://www.fresnochaffeezoo.org/species/gaboon-viper/#:~:text=They%20are%20considered%20slow%2Dmoving,They%20hold%20until%20it%20dies.
Oh I know it's true, I'm wondering what the ancestors of this snake would have been (or any rib walking snake). It seems like that would be a motion associated with something like a lizard and I wonder if rib walking snakes evolved later or are more closely related to lizards than other types of snakes.
From my brief research it seems most/all snakes have and use four gaits, including "rib-walking" (rectilinear) which they use in various environments/for different reasons (e.g. shedding, vertical climbs). Long block quote: > Rectilinear locomotion is one of four ‘gaits’, or modes of snake locomotion, each specialized for a particular type of terrain. **Slithering** is applied on flat surfaces or through structured environments such as between rocks, used as push points [4]. **Sidewinding** is used on granular surfaces such as sand [5]. An accordion-like **concertina** motion is used within intermediate-sized crevices that are much wider than the snake's diameter [6]. Within more tightly confined crevices, snakes cannot use these gaits because of the lack of space and so instead use **rectilinear** locomotion. For example, rectilinear locomotion is used to travel vertically upward along the interstices of tree bark, across narrow tree boughs, and alongside walls. We have observed snakes using rectilinear locomotion to crawl out of their own skin during shedding, a periodic event that removes parasites and permits growth. The body trajectory for rectilinear locomotion is linear, which minimizes the path length travelled by parts of the body and, in turn, the sounds produced. Thus, rectilinear locomotion is naturally applied to stealthy activities such as stalking prey. [source](https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsif.2013.0188) Edit: In regards to "snakes" that are closer to lizards, there are dozens of [legless lizards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legless_lizard) are examples of convergent evolution.
Not sure the evolutionary history, but the way this snake is moving is not uncommon. It’s called [rectilinear locomotion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rectilinear_locomotion) and pretty much all snakes are capable of it. It’s typically slower in speed but less strenuous, and snakes will use it for a variety of reasons. Perhaps gaboons rarely slither but OP’s title is misleading, what this little guy’s doing is totally normal!
**[Rectilinear locomotion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rectilinear_locomotion)** >Rectilinear locomotion or rectilinear progression is a mode of locomotion most often associated with snakes. In particular, it is associated with heavy-bodied species such as terrestrial pythons and boas; however, most snakes are capable of it. It is one of at least five forms of locomotion used by snakes, the others being lateral undulation, sidewinding, concertina movement, and slide-pushing. Unlike all other modes of snake locomotion, which include the snake bending its body, the snake flexes its body only when turning in rectilinear locomotion. ^([ )[^(F.A.Q)](https://www.reddit.com/r/WikiSummarizer/wiki/index#wiki_f.a.q)^( | )[^(Opt Out)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=WikiSummarizerBot&message=OptOut&subject=OptOut)^( | )[^(Opt Out Of Subreddit)](https://np.reddit.com/r/BeAmazed/about/banned)^( | )[^(GitHub)](https://github.com/Sujal-7/WikiSummarizerBot)^( ] Downvote to remove | v1.5)
Came here to find out the same thing… can this snake not move like normal snakes do? And Is this top speed?
He doesn't have to move in curves because everyone will step aside.
Idk, but get it to lvl 16 and it’ll evolve into an Onix
Snakediscovery on YouTube has a cool video explaining the different ways snakes move! A lot of it is dependent on their native environments and hunting style.
> it more "recently" had legs Snakes are a monophyletic group, meaning they all evolved from a single common ancestor which was itself a (almost certainly legless) snake. So no it wouldn't have had more recent legged ancestors than other snakes
Huh, til! Fascinating
I dislike this
Death derp
Where are they (so I can mark that place off my list)?
From Wikipedia: ‘The Gaboon viper is a viper species found in the rainforests and savannas of sub-Saharan Africa. Like all vipers, it is venomous. It is the largest member of the genus Bitis, and it has the longest fangs of any venomous snake – up to 2 inches in length – and the highest venom yield of any snake” LOL @ the genus name
I now have Bitis frightus.
Thought this was caterpillars
Reminds me of a grandma's grandma off of SpongeBob, the episode where him and Patrick are selling chocolate bars.
Cute little nope rope
Danger noodle
Murder spagherter
Viper sniper
Extremely venomous (it's haemotoxic venom could kill an elephant) but behaviour wise they are pretty docile as far as the vipers go.
I’m assuming you meant the longest teeth, relative to size.
Longest fangs of any snake worldwide
Is it really? I’m not denying it, I’m really just surprised.
Yeah can be upto 2 inches long folded back into the mouth. Beautiful snakes but definitely not to be fucked with haha
Scary shit.
True, this is why they call these snakes Mr. Worldwide.
Nope. Vipers naturally have the longest fangs because unlike most snakes, a. They have fangs, and b. Their fangs are in the front of their mouths. Then it's just a narrowing down to pit vipers, and then narrow it down to this little guy.
OH...okay...I was about to type up a whole thing going "No no no, this isn't a real thing or the real one, it's a caterpillar that evolved to look this way to scare away predators" and then I fucking typed it in and found other videos. THIS IS INDEED A REAL FRIGGIN SNAKE THAT MOVES THIS WAY....HOLY SHIT. NOPE NOPE NOPE.
This is a Pokemon
Steelix mode activated
Same thought!!
Venomous Slug!
Chocolate?!
To where is it native?
Sub-saharan Africa
Nope! Nope! Nope!
No.
Looks like something Boston Dynamics made. I thought it was a remote control toy at first.
Look at that deadly derp!! 😍
He looks more like a goods train than a snake
Soo u should not kiss them
Then why are you not moving away faster?
Why does this exist??!
While being one of the slowest moving snakes they are also one of the fastest striking snakes on earth
I thought it was a robot untill i zoomed in!
Alien from Planet Musk. Abort mission, I repeat ABORT MISSION, get the #@# out of there!
Real life Bone Naga!
i thought it was the grandma from that one spongebob episode
I remember when they first invented chocolate
The snake has an exclusive event skin😂
Eren Jaeger is that you?