The last thing you would imagine to see
flying in the air is something you’d normally slither around the ground, like a
snake. A flying snake sounds like something
out of a nightmare, but there is an actual type of snake found in the southern
areas of Asia that does just the thing.
Flying snake, also known as Chrysopelea, doesn’t
actually have wings like a bird. They’re misnomers that glide through the
forest by jumping off on tree to another, shifting their bodies during free
fall to catch air and gain lift. In the past, these snakes were looked at as
parachuters, but recent studies on their physical structure showed how their
tube-shape and lack of limbs help them glide through the air.
To lift off, a Chrysopelea would slither off to the end of the tree branch, dangle out to a J shape
and then propels itself into the air by forming an S shape. Once in the air, it
positions itself into a C shape which helps traps the air and let it glide. It
can even turn different direction while gliding. It’s complex way of setting
off and moving around in the air technically makes them better gliders compared
to a more popular gliding animal, the flying squirrel.
There are 5 known flying snake species, all
found in the western India until the Indonesian area. Not a lot of things are
known about these snakes and how they behave in the wild, but they’re said to
spend most of their time off the ground and on the trees. In fact, they rarely
leave the canopy. They can grow from 2
to 4 feet in length.
