REPTILIA: SQUAMATA: COLUBRIDAE: Chrysopelia

Chrysopelia paradisi Boie, 1827 

Paradise flying snake

Photos & text by Dr. Robert Sprackland.

Range: Forests of southeastern Asia.

Diagnosis: A snake with a broad flat head, shiny upper head scales, very large eyes with round pupils, and 3-4 yellow or red crossbands across the head.

Description:

Natural History:  Flying snakes get their name from the ability to spread the ribs widely, allowing a snake to bolt off a tree limb and glide through the air in a controlled, swimming motion. In reality this behavior is rare, and the alternate common name, paradise tree snake, ma be more appropriate.

Left, a brightly colored specimen of Chrysopelia; right, a flying snake from Borneo eating a gecko.

Paradise tree snakes are rear-fanged and venomous. Although generally considered harmless to humans because of their small size, no empirical data are available for snakebite from this species. It is thus prudent to avoid being bitten. These are nervous snakes that do not become tame or quiet in captivity, and they are easily provoked into striking.

Reproduction: Egg layers.

Taxonomy & Relationships: Members of the rear-fanged and venomous subfamily Boiginae.

Variation:

Additional Comments:

Type Specimen:

Literature: click on underlined books to order a copy.

Chan-ard, Tanya, Wolfgang Grossman, Andreas Gumprecht and Klaus-Dieter Schulz. 1999. Amphibians and reptiles of peninsular Malaysia and Thailand, an illustrated checklist. In English & German. Bushmaster Publications. ISBN: 3-9806813-0-0.

Flank, Lenny. 1999. Notes on the biology and captive care of the flying snakes (Chrysopelia). Reptile & Amphibian Hobbyist July-- 4(11): 28-32.

Heyer, W. Ron and S. Pongsapipatana. 1970. Gliding speeds of Ptychozoon lionatum (Reptilia: Gekkonidae) and Chrysopelia ornata (Reptilia: Colubridae). Herpetologica 26(3):317-319.

Manthey, Ulrich and Wolfgang Grossman. 1997. Amphibien & Reptilien Südostasiens. In German. Natur und Tier Verlag. ISBN: 3-931587-12-6.

Mertens, R. 1968. Die Arten und Unterarten der Schmuckbaumschlangen (Chrysopelia). Senckenbergiana Biologica 49(3/4):191-217.