Evan Seng Huat Quah, a herpetologist at the University of Malaysia Sabah, and Larry Lee Grismer of La Sierra University recently published the results of an unusual snake finding in Malaysia. The Dwarf Reed Snake (Pseudorabdion longiceps) has an unusual means of locomotion—at least when it is escaping from a predator. Instead of slithering away, it carthweels away, end over end.
This unusual behavior was known only anecdotally until, in August of 2019, the scientists were able to film the snake cartwheeling while they on an unrelated field research trip in the mountains.
You can watch the Dwarf Reed Snake performing its tumbling routine in this brief video.
-via Gizmodo