1m adult, lacking the red 'flower' pattern, Singapore.


30 cm juvenile, with red 'flower' pattern, Singapore.

Links : Flyingsnake.org

References : H1, H2

The Paradise Tree Snake is considered by some to be rare, however in Singapore it is commonly encountered in a variety of habitats including mangrove, secondary forest, and parks and gardens. This is a back-fanged colubrid with weak venom sufficiently powerful to immobilise its small prey, which comprises mainly tree-dwelling lizards. The species is active by day.

	A tree-dwelling gecko makes for easy prey.
	Close-up of the hemipenes during copulation.

It is an adept climber, and a favoured haunt is the crown of coconut palms. As with other members of the Chrysopelea genus it has the remarkable ability to glide from tree to tree : it achieves this by flattening the body so that the ventral surface becomes concave, and then projecting itself into the air from a high branch whilst making sinuous snake-like movements.

The body is slender, and the tail long. Typical patterning is an attractive arrangement of dark-edged yellow scales, however some specimens have red patterning along the dorsal surface.

The species ranges from parts of Burma and  Southern Thailand through Peninsular Malaysia and Singapore to Indonesia (Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi) and parts of the Philippines.