Washington, July 17 - Sandfish, small lizards with smooth scales, virtually turn into snakes to navigate desert sand.

Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT) researchers found that the animals place their limbs against their sides and create a wave motion with their bodies to propel themselves through sand.

'When startled above the surface, the animals dive into the sand within a half second,' said Daniel Goldman, assistant professor in GIT School of Physics, who led the study.

'Once below the surface, they no longer use their limbs for propulsion -- instead, they move forward by propagating a travelling wave down their bodies like a snake,' Goldman added.

GIT researchers used high-speed x-ray imaging to visualise sandfish -- formally called Scincus scincus -- burrowing into and through sand.