Hoop snake

From The Book of THoTH (Leaves of Wisdom)

The hoop snake is a legendary creature of the United States and Australia. The hoop snake is referred to in the Pecos Bill stories and although it is his description of hoop snakes that most people are familiar with, stories of the creature predate those fictional tales considerably.

The distinguishing feature of a hoop snake is that it can grasp its tail in its jaws and roll after its prey like a wheel, thus looking somewhat like the ouroboros of Greek mythology. The best way to save yourself is to jump through the hoop to confuse it.

While the hoop snake has never been accepted by the scientific community, sightings are still occasionally reported. Some cryptozoologists feel that is a distorted description of the sidewinder of the American southwest. It has been suggested that the hoop snake derives from truck tire remnants lying beside the highway -- when a big 18-wheeler has a blowout they often leave behind a hoop of tire rubber (along with lots of other bits of tire) that looks like a round black snake biting its tail.

A similar creature, called the Little Blue Snake, is known from the gold-diggers' folklore of the Ural mountains in Russia. It is a capricious spirit that points those to whom she appears to gold in the earth, but causes those of impure heart to argue and fight amongst themselves. In the story, she leads two little boys to riches, but the boys' sister mentions grown men who saw her and knifed each other before they could enjoy any of the gold. This story bears a remarkable resemblance to "The Pardoner's Tale" in Canterbury Tales.

In the science fiction show Lexx, "Cluster Lizards" chase their prey by rolling into a hoop shape.

Recently, several small lizards and caterpillars native to mountain areas, specifically the West Coast of North America, have been found to roll themselves into hoops to escape predators by rolling down the mountainside. Further study is currently being conducted.