Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

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Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

A young Chrysopelea paradisi, one of the storied flying snakes of Asia. This one didn't fly for me, but here's how they do it.

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Dr. Dark
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by Dr. Dark »

WOW! What a spectacularly beautiful snake! My son and I just watched a show on Nat Geo last night about these guys called "Snakes That Fly". It was a well-done show and extremely interesting what they found out about the mechanics of their "flight".
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Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

Well, this is one of those point-and-shoot snakes that practically photograph themselves. There's little you can do wrong with such a subject :-)

Is that show on YouTube?

Thanks!
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Ruxs
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by Ruxs »

Simply magical. Probably the worlds prettiest snake and you should be honoured to make it's acquaintance :)
Great photo's and nice post
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Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

Probably the worlds prettiest snake
Have you met Gonyophis margaritatus. Well, neither have I, and that's a fate many nature photographers share down here. It's the herper's Holy Grail, right up there with Lanthanotus and Ophiophagus...
you should be honoured to make it's acquaintance
Au contraire: it was about fricking time I ran into one of those guys - they're common garden snakes. In fact, this specimen was found in a neighbor's driveway this morning....can't wait to meet a fully grown adult!
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by chrish »

Hans Breuer (twoton) wrote:Au contraire: it was about fricking time I ran into one of those guys - they're common garden snakes. In fact, this specimen was found in a neighbor's driveway this morning....can't wait to meet a fully grown adult!
I actually had wondered why we hadn't been graced with a Chrysopelea dispatch yet. They were certainly common a bit south of you when I was there.

Looks like you weren't the first one to "find" that snake either based on the scarring on its side. :shock:
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by Antonsrkn »

Great find, really stunning snake!
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by Zach_Lim »

What a gorgeous find, Hans!

Find more, please!
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by intermedius »

Favorite snake in the Colubridae! :thumb: . Love it Hans
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Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

Thanks for all the positive comments! Next up - a six-foot Lycodon albofuscus, which serves as a nice counterpart to the visual opulence of this specimen here :-)
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by MaartenSFS »

Amazing specimen, Hans! Sorry that I haven't posted or commented much these months, but a newborn will do that! I am still lurking on here, though, but couldn't pass up this beauty!
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Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

Hey, welcome back in the open, Maarten! I'd been wondering where you'd been all that time...
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Ruxs
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by Ruxs »

Next time you do a post like this or the 'Eight Snakes...' one from before, you should elaborate on how and where you found/caught them. I really like that sort of thing, especially in your writing style :)
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Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

Ruxs wrote:Next time you do a post like this or the 'Eight Snakes...' one from before, you should elaborate on how and where you found/caught them. I really like that sort of thing, especially in your writing style :)
Thanks for the compliment! Can't write a full report all the time, though...most of the snakes are road-cruised anyway, and you don't want to read the same story eight times over ("a sinewy serpent, slithering shadily in the shadowy shine, appeared in our headlights. After managing to heave my bulk out of the car without major bruises, and not even forgetting to pull the handbrake - forgoing a fiery fate for the fine four-wheel fehicle - I arrived snakeside just when it was about to disappear in the roadside grass. Gratuitous violence on behalf of the animal ensues when I try to bag it, yadayadayada etc. ad nauseam.") Few are the instances that are truly worth documenting on pen and paper :-)

Not to mention the fact that many animals are much more beautiful than my writing can ever be, so why sully the experience? :-)
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by MaartenSFS »

Hans Breuer (twoton) wrote:Hey, welcome back in the open, Maarten! I'd been wondering where you'd been all that time...
Thanks for flipping me (as I had been under cover)! By the way, did you try to get it to "fly"?
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Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

No, it just looks so delicate. With Draco sp., I have no qualms about tossing them in the air and watching them gracefully descend, but with this one, I don't know...
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by MaartenSFS »

Well, I thought naturally, but who am I to stop you from tossing animals into the air to test a theory?! :P :twisted:
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Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

lol
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by Warren »

:thumb:
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by kyle loucks »

That post hurt my eyes. :crazyeyes:
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by snakemastermyke »

:thumb:

SO INCREDIBLE, one of my favorite Asian herps!!!! Great photos!!!
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by DavidG »

Nice Hans, this is one of the nicer colour variations of paradisi! I usually encounter the green-black patterned one, although recently I found one with a beautiful golden head (still paradise tree snake - not golden tree snake). Goodluck on your herping adventures. May the king cobras be with you!
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by moloch »

Absolutely spectacular, Hans! What a great find and set of photos.

Regards,
David
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Hans Breuer (twoton)
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by Hans Breuer (twoton) »

Thank you very much, all!
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Re: Borneo Dispatches #57: Paradise Flying Snake

Post by Robyn@TRR »

Such a beautiful snake. Incredible. Thanks for the awesome pics!
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