Ornate flying snake

Appearance

''Chrysopelea ornata'' is usually green in color, with black cross-hatching and yellow or gold colored accents. The body, though slender, is far less so than in other tree snakes. It has a flattened head with constricted neck, a blunt nose and large eyes with round pupils.

The lateral, sharp and pronounced keeled condition of the ventrals in association with the normal, not enlarged, vertebral row of scales distinguish this snake.

This snake ranges from 11.5 to 130 cm long. Maturity is reached at about 1 m in length. The tail is about one-fourth of the total length.

''Chrysopelea ornata'' has two major colour forms, which are largely determined by geographic locality, and their descriptions are given below:
⤷  In Sri Lanka and the southern extent of its Indian range, the snake is primarily greenish yellow or pale green. Each scale has a black mesial streak or spot, and is more or less edged with black. The snake also has dark crossbars at intervals. A series of large, flower-shaped, reddish or orange vertebral spots may be present or absent. Ventrals greenish, outside the keel edged with black or spotted. Head black with vellow crossbars and spots. The flower-shaped spots are commoner in Sri Lanka than in south India.

⤷  The second colour variety which occurs in Southeast Asia lacks the reddish vertebral spots, and has less prominent black crossbars.

Naming

* English - golden tree snake, gliding snake, ornate flying snake, golden flying snake, gold and black tree snake, flying tree snake
⤷  Urdu - ''kala jin''.
⤷  Sinhala - ''pol-mal-karawala'', ''mal karawala''.
⤷  German - ''Gelbgrüne Schmuckbaumnatter'', ''Gewöhnliche Schmuckbaumnatter''.
⤷  Bengali - KaalnaginiThere are three recognized subspecies of ''C. ornata'':
⤷ ''Chrysopelea ornata ornata'' – southwest India.
⤷ ''Chrysopelea ornata ornatissima'' Werner, 1925 – north and east India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Southeast Asia.
⤷ ''Chrysopelea ornata sinhaleya'' Deraniyagala, 1945 – Sri Lanka.

Status

Not known to be endangered.

Behavior

''Chrysopelea ornata'' is diurnal and arboreal. The snake's gliding ability, while not as impressive as that of the paradise flying snake , still makes it capable of moving from tree to tree with relative ease. These snakes are excellent climbers, being able move across even the smallest of branches and even straight up trees with few branches by using the edges of rough bark. They are frequently seen moving up a coconut palm, or up vertical rock faces in graceful curves, gripping the somewhat uneven surfaces with their scales. They tend to be nervous, fast-moving snakes, and will attempt to flee if disturbed, but will not generally hesitate to bite if handled. They are mildly venomous, but the venom is not considered to be dangerous to humans. It is intended to assist in subduing fast moving, arboreal prey.
''C. ornata'' takes small arboreal prey, such as lizards, bats and small rodents. It might also feed on bird eggs and insects. Also it is reported to take snakes occasionally, and to avoid frogs, though frogs are also reported being eaten. The snake stalks or pursues the prey and seizes it by the neck, which is crushed in its strong jaws.

Habitat

''Chrysopelea ornata'' is a common snake and has adapted well to human habitats. In southern parts of Thailand, they are reported to hide in the thatch of the roofing material inside bungalows to prey on geckos and mice during the night. In these areas, one can almost be certain to be relatively close to a ''C. ornata'' most anywhere, perhaps hiding in the crown of the nearby coconut palm, under the roots of a tree, or even curled up in a potted plant. When hunting and pursuing fleeing prey, they have been reported to drop down out of the crown of coconut palms. Snakes are often indiscriminately killed, as many locals incorrectly assume all snakes are venomous. ''C. ornata'' is sometimes cooked for food.

Reproduction

Breeding habits are little known. The snake is oviparous and six to twelve elongated eggs are laid. Gravid females have been obtained in May and June and hatchlings in June. In Bangkok, according to Smith, mating takes place in June. Hatchlings measure 114–152 mm long, while the smallest gravid female recorded was 1,093 mm long.

Defense

This species is considered mildly venomous, with no confirmed cases of medically significant envenomation.