Thai National Parks

Species of Thailand

Twin-barred tree snake

Chrysopelea pelias

(Carolus Linnaeus, 1758)

In Thai: งูดอกหมากแดง (ngu khieow dokmak daeng)

The twin-barred tree snake (Chrysopelea pelias) is a species of snake found in Southeast Asia. It is also called the banded flying snake. It can glide, as with all species of its genus Chrysopelea, 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 about 100 metres in a glide from the top of a tree. It is an oviparous snake.

Chrysopelea pelias begins gliding by jumping in an upward position that seems to be different from the behavior of other limbless vertebrates. This way of moving, as seen in a closely related genus, might have been a behavioral precursor to the evolution of gliding in snakes.

Chrysopelea pelias has an overlapping range with the paradise tree snake (Chrysopelea paradisi) in Malaysia, Singapore, Borneo and Indonesia. However, Chrysopelea pelias is not nearly as common as the paradise tree snake.

Distribution

The twin-barred tree snake is found in Thailand, Malaysia (Malaya, Penang Island, Pulau Tioman, and East Malaysia), Indonesia (Bangka, Java, Mentawai Archipelago, , Natuna Archipelago, Nias, Riau Archipelago, Sumatra, Borneo); Brunei Darussalam; Burma ;India, Western Ghats Singapore.

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Scientific classification

Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Reptilia
Order
Squamata
Suborder
Serpentes
Family
Colubridae
Genus
Chrysopelea
Species
Chrysopelea pelias

Common names

  • German:
    • Rote Schmuckbaumnatter
    • Gebänderte Schmuckbaumnatter
  • English:
    • Twin-barred tree snake
    • Banded flying snake
    • Red tree snake
  • Thai: งูดอกหมากแดง (ngu khieow dokmak daeng)

Synonyms

  • Chrysopelea pelias, Van Stanley Bartholomew Wallach et al. (2014)
  • Chrysopelea pelias, Karl Patterson Schmidt (2012)
  • Chrysopelea pelias, Merel J. Cox et al. (1998)
  • Chrysopelea pelias, Ulrich Manthey & Wolfgang Grossmann (1997)
  • Chrysopelea chrysochlora, Rudolf Malkmus (1985)
  • Chrysopelea pelias (LINNAEUS), Robert Mertens (1968)
  • Chrysopelea pelias, Malcolm Arthur Smith (1930)
  • Chrysochlora pelias, Lars Gabriel Andersson (1899)
  • Chrysopelea chrysochlora, George Albert Boulenger (1896)
  • Chrysopelea erythrochloris, Pieter Bleeker (1860)

Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN3.1)

Least Concern (IUCN3.1)

Photos

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Chrysopelea pelias - Kaeng Krachan National Park
Chrysopelea pelias - Kaeng Krachan National Park
Chrysopelea pelias - Kaeng Krachan National Park

Range Map

Distribution map of Twin-barred tree snake, Chrysopelea pelias in Thailand
  • Hala-Bala Wildlife Sanctuary
  • Kaeng Krachan National Park
  • Khao Lak - Lam Ru National Park
  • Khao Luang National Park
  • Khao Sok National Park
  • Mueang Krabi District, Krabi
  • Mueang Phuket District, Phuket
  • Namtok Sai Khao National Park
  • Phuket Province
  • Suan Phueng District, Ratchaburi
  • Thale Ban National Park
  • Ton Nga-Chang Wildlife Sanctuary
  • Waeng District, Narathiwat
Range map of Chrysopelea pelias in Thailand