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A flying snake flattens out into a weird fly - saucer pattern so as to get some supernumerary airtime , novel enquiry suggests .
The findings , write today ( Jan. 29 ) in The Journal of Experimental Biology , show that the southeasterly Asian Hydra ’s flattened , UFO - like cross - section gives it the right flowing properties for glide .
A flying paradise tree snake,Chrysopelea paradisi.
" The form is unusual , " said study co - source Jake Socha , a biomechanics researcher at Virginia Tech . " You never find this sort of shape in any other animal flyer ; you do n’t find it in engineered flyers . We did n’t know if that was a good material body to have . " [ See Images of the Flying Snake ]
Gliding brute
The weirdflying snake in the grass , Chrysopelea paradisi , curls its tail around a tree subdivision more than 50 human foot ( 15 m ) above the earth before launch upward , curling its physical structure and sailplaning to the next tree limb .
While skirt , and even humans using sailplane wings , are much just at their airborne maneuvers , the snake ’s performance compare favorably to that of othergliding fauna , such as flight squirrels , lizards and even ant , Socha say .
investigator already make love that the serpent curved around , splayed out their rib to flatten out their torso and roll as they were airborne — but they did n’t know why .
" It wait like it ’s swimming in the aura , " Socha told LiveScience .
No snake - shaped planes
To resolve one part of the puzzle , the team created forcible example of the cross - section and test them in a piddle burrow , which , if set up properly , can have the same flow feature as air , Socha said .
It turn out that theflying saucercross - section was a surprisingly right shape to take — much better than the cylindrical shape the Snake River would have if it did n’t compress itself .
Compared to a more intimate take flight form , such as an airplane extension scale down to snake size , " you ’d bump the snake in the grass is actually like , " Socha allege .
" The animal has picture out a resolution to an engineering job that we did n’t even get laid we had , " Socha say .
But do n’t expect to board a 747 with flying - snake - shaped wings anytime before long , as the condition would n’t be about as aerodynamically efficient at a plane ’s size and speed , Socha enounce .
Now , the team has to solve another mystery : why the snake undulates once or twice every 2d while gliding , Socha say .
