Chrysopelea, more commonly known as the flying snake or gliding snake, is a genus of snakes that belongs to the family Colubridae. They are found in Southeast Asia, and are known for they ability to glide between trees. Flying snakes are mildly venomous, though the venom is dangerous only to their small prey. There are five species within the genus.
Ahaetulla nasuta, also known as Sri Lankan green vine snake and long-nosed whip snake, is a venomous, slender green tree snake endemic to Sri Lanka.
Ahaetulla dispar, the Gunther's vine snake, is a species of tree snake endemic to the Western Ghats. It is primarily restricted to the Shola forests of the Southern Western Ghats where it is found often on high-elevation montane grasslands and the low shrub belts.
Brown-speckled whipsnake or brown vine snake is a species of colubrid vine snake endemic to Sri Lanka.
Boiga ceylonensis is a species of rear-fanged, mildly venomous, nocturnal, arboreal colubrid snake endemic to Sri Lanka.
Chrysopelea ornata is a mildly venomous opisthoglyphous (rear-fanged) colubrid snake found in both South and Southeast Asia. It is commonly known as the golden tree snake, ornate flying snake, and golden flying snake. Along with the other species in the Chrysopelea genus, the golden tree snake is very unusual, as it is capable of a type of gliding "flight" —mainly utilised during the pursuit of prey animals—from tree-to-tree. This action is also used to great effect for the snake to flee its own potential predators. Currently, three subspecies are recognised. The snake's striking looks, and potential for gliding, have made it a coveted choice for captivity.
Paradise tree snake or paradise flying snake is a species of colubrid snake found in Southeast 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 10 meters or more 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.
Dendrelaphis bifrenalis, also called Boulenger's bronzeback, Boulenger's bronze-back, and Travancore bronze-brown snake, is a colubrid snake native to Eastern Ghats of Southern India and Sri Lanka. It was first described by George Albert Boulenger in 1890. Dendrelaphis wickrorum from Sri Lanka was previously confused with this species.
Dendrelaphis pictus, commonly known as either the common bronzeback, painted bronzeback, or Indonesian bronzeback, is a species of colubrid snake found in Southeast Asia.
Dendrelaphis tristis is a species of colubrid tree-snake found in South Asia.
Ahaetulla, commonly referred to as Asian vine snakes or Asian whip snakes, is a genus of colubrid snakes distributed throughout tropical Asia. They are considered by some scientists to be mildly venomous and are what is commonly termed as 'rear-fanged' or more appropriately, opisthoglyphous, meaning their enlarged teeth or fangs, intended to aid in venom delivery, are located in the back of the upper jaw, instead of in the front as they are in vipers or cobras. As colubrids, Ahaetulla do not possess a true venom gland or a sophisticated venom delivery system. The Duvernoy's gland of this genus, homologous to the venom gland of true venomous snakes, produces a secretion which, though not well studied, is considered not to be medically significant to humans.
Dendrelaphis schokari, also known as the common bronze-back or Schokar's bronzeback, is a species of non-venomous arboreal snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to Sri Lanka.
The variable colored vine snake is a species of opisthoglyphous colubrid vine snake found in Bangladesh and India. It is the first reported sexually dichromatic snake from the Indian Subcontinent, and until 2017 was formerly regarded as a subspecies of the green vine snake, Ahaetulla nasuta.
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.
Dendrelaphis formosus, commonly known as either the elegant bronzeback or beautiful bronzeback tree snake, is a snake species in the family Colubridae from Southeast Asia.
The Indian vine snake or long-nosed vine snake is a species of diurnal, mildly venomous, arboreal snake distributed in the lowlands of peninsular India.Often mistakenly believed to peck out peoples' eyes, this misconception has led to widespread wanton killing of this species.
Boiga dightoni whitakeri, or Whitaker's cat snake, is a subspecies of nocturnal, arboreal, opisthoglyphous snake of the family Colubridae. It is endemic to the Western Ghats of South India, in Kerala and Tamil Nadu states.
Dendrelaphis fuliginosus, commonly known as the Philippine lamp-black tree snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is found in the Philippines.
Dendrelaphis striatus, commonly known as the banded bronzeback or striated bronzeback treesnake, is a species of snake of the family Colubridae found in Southeast Asia.
Dendrelaphis subocularis, commonly known as the mountain bronzeback or Burmese bronzeback, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae from Southeast Asia.
