Name: Linda
Status: educator
Grade: 4-5
Location: TX
Country: USA
Date: N/A
Question:
Why does a water moccasin snake float, but not other water snakes?
Replies:
Linda:
Snakes don't actually float, they swim. Some snakes have evolved in their habitats
to be able to swim, and some have not. I don't know enough about snake anatomy and
movement to tell you how they actually do that.
J. Elliott
Linda
Water moccasins aren't the only snakes that float.
If a body weighs less than the water it displaces, it will float.
That is, fill a buck to the very brim with water.
Put a snake in it and collect the water that spills over the side.
Weight the snake and weigh the water that spilled over the side.
If the snake weighs less than the water that spilled over the side of the
bucket, the snake will float.
Please see the following URL for a whole genus of water snakes:
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