Abstract
A biomechanical study on the serpentine locomotion of snakes is presented including both mechanical analysis and its experimental verification with respect to Elaphe quadrivirgata. The mechanical analysis is based on an active linear linkage model, and the theoretical relations of forces induced by antagonistic muscles in straight-forward undulatory movement are obtained. A peculiar mode of snake's movement, which the authors define as the “vertex-lifting locomotion” (as shown Fig. 1), is shown to be optimal for rapid movement. The zoological experiments show good agreement with the theoretical results as well as some assumptions. Thus the authors conclude that this paper will be the first from the biomechanical point of view on snake's locomotion.
