Page 138 - Amphibionics : Build Your Own Biologically Inspired Robot

Amphibionics 05 3/24/03 8:43 AM Page 117
5

Serpentronic:

Build Your Own

Robotic Snake

Snakes

Snakes are characterized by a long, slender body covered in over-
lapping scales. There are approximately 2,800 species of snakes,
most of which are nonvenomous and do not harm humans. They
have no limbs or external ears. Snakes possess a backbone and
ribs that may number in the hundreds. The eyelids do not move,
but are fused to form transparent spectacles. The jaws of the
mouth are not fused, which gives the snake the ability to open its
mouth wide. This allows snakes to eat prey that are much bigger
in diameter than they are. After the snake has swallowed, the
bulge of the newly eaten animal can be seen before the snake’s
digestive process breaks it down. The snake’s forked tongue is
completely retractable. The snake’s organs, such as the heart and
stomach, are long and narrow. Only one lung is functional, with
the left lung being unusable or missing entirely. Some primitive
snakes have teeth only in one jaw, while the egg-eaters have no
teeth at all.

Most snakes achieve locomotion by slithering along an S-shaped
path. On land, a snake presses down and pushes forward from the

117
Copyright 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click Here for Terms of Use.