gravitational gliding

Gravitational gliding is a form of locomotion where animals reduce their falling speed by increasing their body's surface area, similar to parachuting. This is achieved through various adaptations: frogs flatten their bodies and spread their limbs, snakes flatten their bodies and create a trough with their ventral scales, and some lizards have elongated ribs that fan out. Mammals like flying squirrels and colugos utilize a skin fold called a patagium, extending from wrist to ankle, which unfolds when they spread their limbs in a spread-eagle posture. Gliders can control their direction by adjusting their surface area and can even land on vertical surfaces by stalling their flight. This is distinct from soaring, which is sustained gliding without power input, typically used by birds.123