Chrysopelea paradisi

Paradise tree snake or paradise flying snake, Chrysopelea paradisi, is a species of snake found in southeastern Asia. It can, like all species of its genus Chrysopelea, glide by stretching the body into a flattened strip using its ribs. It is mostly found in moist forests and can cover a horizontal distance of about 100 m (330 feet) in a glide from the top of a tree. Slow motion photography shows an undulation of the snake's body in flight while the head remains relatively stable, suggesting controlled flight. They are mildly venomous with rear fangs and also can constrict their prey, which consists of mostly lizards and bats.

Paradise flying snake

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Chrysopelea
Species:
C. paradisi
Binomial name
Chrysopelea paradisi
Boie, 1827

Kinematics

Although the flying snake does not display visible characteristics that contribute to its ability to glide, there are three aspects that have been studied and found to have great positive effects on this. Their form of takeoff which is most commonly the anchored J-loop take-off,[2] once airborne their cross sectional body is shaped into a triangle [3] and their bodies use an aerial undulation to maximize the distance traveled.[4]

Distribution

Thailand (incl. Phuket), Cambodia, Indonesia (Bangka, Belitung, Java, Mentawai Archipelago, Natuna Archipelago, Nias, Riau Archipelago, Sumatra, We, Borneo, Sulawesi), Brunei Darussalam; India (Andaman Islands), Malaysia (Malaya and East Malaysia); Myanmar (Burma); Philippine Islands (including Sulu Archipelago, Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Panay, Luzon); Singapore; Race celebensis: Indonesia (Sulawesi) ; Bangladesh (Sylhet, Chittagong, Khulna, Race: Golden Flying Snake).

Race variabilis: Philippine Islands (including Sulu Archipelago)

References
  1. Vogel, G.; Wogan, G.; Diesmos, A.C.; Gonzalez, J.C.; Inger, R.F. (2014). "Chrysopelea paradisi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T183189A1732041. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
  2. Socha, J. J. (1 September 2006). "Becoming airborne without legs: the kinematics of take-off in a flying snake, Chrysopelea paradisi". Journal of Experimental Biology. 209 (17): 3358–3369. doi:10.1242/jeb.02381.
  3. Holden, D.; Socha, J. J.; Cardwell, N. D.; Vlachos, P. P. (29 January 2014). "Aerodynamics of the flying snake Chrysopelea paradisi: how a bluff body cross-sectional shape contributes to gliding performance". Journal of Experimental Biology. 217 (3): 382–394. doi:10.1242/jeb.090902.
  4. Socha, J. J. (15 May 2005). "A 3-D kinematic analysis of gliding in a flying snake, Chrysopelea paradisi". Journal of Experimental Biology. 208 (10): 1817–1833. doi:10.1242/jeb.01579.
  • Boie, F. 1827 Bemerkungen über Merrem's Versuch eines Systems der Amphibien, 1. Lieferung: Ophidier. Isis van Oken, Jena, 20: 508–566.


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