Researchers studying dwarf reed snakes in Southeast Asia have captured rare video of the diminutive reptiles escaping predators by rapidly cartwheeling away, achieving speeds of up to 12 feet per second in findings published on October 19, 2026, in Current Biology, as reported by Science News and Live Science, based on work by a team from Japan’s Toho University working alongside colleagues in Malaysia.
Small Southeast Asian snakes belonging to the Pseudorabdion genus have a clever way of fleeing from trouble: they turn cartwheels until they are safe from danger, according to a study published on Current Biology.
These creatures grow to a length of about 11 to 28 centimeters according to Science News.
They spend most of their time hiding under rocks, logs, fallen branches, and leaf litter to avoid predators such as birds and larger snakes.
Laboratory Trials Reveal the Mechanics of Snake Cartwheeling
Scientists first described this roly-poly behavior after spotting a snake wheeling down a road in northwest Malaysia, and a colleague in Sarawak, Malaysia, witnessed the very weird behavior in 2019.
Ecologist Yosuke Kojima of Toho University in Japan and his colleagues went to Malaysia’s Kubah National Park and gathered 13 snakes belonging to the Pseudorabdion genus—specifically collecting 11 specimens of Pseudorabdion saravacense, one Pseudorabdion collaris, and one Pseudorabdion longiceps—along with six reed snakes of the Calamaria genus for comparison.
The team brought the animals back to their laboratory and tested them on a narrow track measuring about 2.2 meters, equipped with cameras positioned above and beside the lane.
While none of the Calamaria reed snakes cartwheeled, the Pseudorabdion genus exhibited the rolling locomotion. At full tilt, they tumbled at peak speeds ranging from 1.72 to 3.69 meters per second, or about 3.8 to 8.3 miles per hour (roughly 6 to 13 kilometers per hour, or 5.6 to 12.1 feet per second), which is approximately four times faster than conventional slithering.
Coordinated Gymnastics and Head Stability During Flight
Analysis of the slow-motion footage revealed a precisely choreographed sequence.
A snake starts by curling its body into a tight C shape with its head lifted off the ground facing the direction of travel, before it straightens its body and pushes off the ground, briefly launching itself into the air.
What a cool snake behavior.
Jessica Tingle, a biologist at Brown University in Providence, R.I.
While airborne, the creature twists its body into an arch, swings it forward and down past one side of its head, and strikes the ground to start the next rotation.
Science News notes that the snake might bring its tail down on the left side of its head to angle its whitish belly toward the viewer, or land on the right side of its head to show its darker back.
Through all these rapid maneuvers, the snakes hold their heads fairly steady, which researchers believe helps the reptiles keep their bearings and avoid losing orientation while moving along a narrow path.
Researchers Study Why Reptiles Roll to Escape Threats
The new study clarifies how the reptiles execute their rolls, though scientists still do not fully understand why or how the behavior evolved.
The rolling tactic probably asks a lot of their muscles and bones, and researchers still need to determine how the diminutive creatures use the technique in their natural habitats.
According to Science News, catching these snakes on camera helps tie up a loose end by addressing 19th-century accounts of “hoop snakes” that previous observers had chalked up to overly inventive imaginations.
After rolling away from threats, researchers observed that the snakes tended to dive underneath nearby objects for extra cover, as reported by Nautil.
Whether dwarf reed snakes possess specialized neural control or if all snakes retain the basic equipment without using it is a fascinating mystery.