''Chrysopelea taprobanica'', the Sri Lankan flying snake or Indian flying snake, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of gliding

colubrid Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. Colu ...

snake distributed in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. It can glide, as with all species of its

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Chrysopelea ''Chrysopelea'' is a genus of snakes, commonly known as flying snakes or gliding snakes, that belong to the family Colubridae. ''Chrysopelea'' species are found in Southeast Asia, and are known for their ability to glide between trees. Flying ...

'', by stretching the body into a flattened strip using its ribs. The snake is known as "dangara dandaa - දඟරදන්ඩා" in Sinhala, due to its folding postures.

Taxonomy

''Chrysopelea taprobanica'' belongs to the

'', which contains four other described species.. ''Chrysopelea'' is one of five genera belonging to the vine snake

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Ahaetuliinae The Ahaetuliinae are a subfamily of vine snakes within the family Colubridae that was erected in 2016. They are found from South and Southeast Asia through to Australia. Etymology The name comes from the genus '' Ahaetulla'', which gets its name ...

, of which ''Chrysopelea'' is most closely related to ''

Dendrelaphis ''Dendrelaphis'' is a genus of snakes in the subfamily Ahaetuliinae of the family Colubridae. Species of the genus ''Dendrelaphis'' are distributed from Pakistan, India and southern China to Indonesia, Timor-Leste, the Philippines, Australia, Ne ...

'', as shown in the

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not s ...

below:

Distribution

The Sri Lankan flying snake is distributed in

and

Peninsular India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the Union territories of In ...

. population in Sri Lanka can be found in dry zone lowlands and parts of the intermediate climatic zones, including

Polonnaruwa Poḷonnaruwa, (; ) also referred as Pulathisipura and Vijayarajapura in History of Sri Lanka, ancient times, is the main town of Polonnaruwa District in North Central Province, Sri Lanka. The modern town of Polonnaruwa is also known as New Town, ...

Wilpattu National Park Wilpattu National Park () is a national park in Sri Lanka. The unique feature of this park is the existence of "Willus" (natural lakes) – natural, sand-rimmed water basins or depressions that fill with rainwater. Located on the northwest coast ...

Sigiriya Sigiriya or Sinhagiri (''Lion Rock'' , , pronounced SEE-gi-ri-yə) is an ancient rock fortress located in the northern Matale District near the town of Dambulla in the Central Province, Sri Lanka. It is a site of historical and archaeologic ...

Kurunegala Kurunegala (, ; , ) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province, Sri Lanka, North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, from the end of the 13th ...

Jaffna Jaffna (, ; , ) is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a Jaffna Peninsula, peninsula of the same name. With a population o ...

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

, and

Monaragala Monaragala (; ) is a town located in Monaragala District, Uva Province, Sri Lanka. It is the largest town and the capital of Monaragala District and is located southeast of Badulla, the capital city of Uva Province. Monaragala is situated about ...

. This species was believed to be

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Sri Lanka until researchers recorded a few specimens from

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

(India) and found old museum specimens collected from India that are now assigned to this species. More recently this species has been sighted in parts of

Eastern Ghats The Eastern Ghats is a mountain range that stretches along the East Coast of India, eastern coast of the Indian peninsula. Covering an area of , it traverses the states and union territories of India, states of Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Prade ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

Description

''Chrysopelea taprobanica'' is a medium-sized snake, reaching length. The head is depressed. Eyes are large with round pupils.

Ventral scale In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that cont ...

s have keels laterally. Vertebral scales are not enlarged.

Dorsal scales In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...

are smooth or feebly keeled. Dorsal side is greenish yellow or pale green. Orange to red spots can be seen between dark cross bands. Head is black dorsally with yellow and black cross-bars. Ventral side is pale green with a series of black lateral spots on each side.

Scalation

There are 198–214

ventral scale In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down the underside of the body from the neck to the anal scale. When counting them, the first is the anteriormost ventral scale that cont ...

s and 107–123

subcaudal scales In snakes, the subcaudal scales are the enlarged plates on the underside of the tail. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press. (7t ...

Behavior

Ecology

The snake inhabits old growth trees, as well as secondary vegetation, cultivation, sometimes entering human dwellings. They are diurnal and

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally (scansorial), but others are exclusively arboreal. The hab ...

Diet

Its diet consists mainly of lizards, such as geckos and agamids. Bats, rodents, birds and other small snakes may also be taken.

Reproduction

''Chrysopelea taprobanica'' is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

Relationship with humans

Because this species is uncommon, arboreal, and prefers forests, it is rarely encountered by humans. One bite has been reliably documented, resulting in mild local effects only.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2967408 Gliding snakes Snakes of Asia Snakes of India Reptiles of Sri Lanka Taxa named by Malcolm Arthur Smith Reptiles described in 1943