Chrysopelea, or more commonly known as the flying snake, is a genus that belongs to the family Colubridae. Flying snakes are mildly venomous,though they are considered harmless because their toxicity is not dangerous to humans.Their range of habitat is mostly concentrated in Southeast Asia,the Melanesian islands and India.
This is quite misleading as the snake glides rather than flies. It does this by using its ridge scales along its belly, pushing against rough bark surface of tree trunks allowing it to move vertically up a tree. Upon reaching the end of a tree's branch, the snake continues moving until its tail dangles from the branch's end. It then makes a J-shape bend,leans forward to select the level of inclination it wishes to travel to control its flight path as well as selecting a desired landing area. Once it decides on a destination, it propels itself by thrusting its body up and away from the tree, sucking in its stomach, flaring out its ribs to turn its body in a "pseudo concave wing" all the while making a continual serpentine motion of lateral undulation parallel to the ground to stabilise its direction in midair in order to land safely.
common species of flyingsnakes
Chrysopelea ornata
Chrysopelea paradisi
Chrysopelea pelias
Chrysopelea rhodopleuron
Chrysopelea taprobanica
