Abstract
©, 2015, Chinese Academy of Sciences. All right reserved.Marvi et al (Science, 2014, vol.346, p.224) concluded a sidewinder rattlesnake increases the body contact length with the sand when granular incline angle increases. They also claimed the same principle should work on robotic snake too. We have evidence to prove that this conclusion is only partial in describing the snake body-sand interaction. There should be three phases that fully represent the snake locomotion behaviors during ascent of sandy slopes, namely lifting, descending, and ceasing. The snake body-sand interaction during the descending and ceasing phases helps with the climbing while such interaction during the lifting phase in fact contributes resistance.