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You’d never ask a turtle to be part of your relay race team. But many other types of reptiles can zip around fast— one is so fast that it seems to walk on water. Some are expert swimmers, and others are cagey climbers. A few lizards and snakes can even glide through the air! Lizards are speedy runners. They scurry quickly over the ground, swinging their bodies from side to side to take long strides. Chameleons scramble around in trees with the

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BY LAND, SEA, AND AIR Some snakes are fast movers, even though they have no legs. Snakes move in different ways. Some bunch their bodies into tight coils and then straighten them out again, in an accordion-style movement against the ground. Others, such as sidewinders, throw their bodies into S-shaped curves that press against the ground.

help of rough soles on their feet. These rough soles help them to grip smooth branches. Tree snakes have ridged scales on their bellies that work in the same way.

A chameleon’s toes have scaled soles with tiny hairs that grip like plastic wrap. They grip so well that the lizard can climb sheer walls and even run across the ceiling upside down! 7

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