The Fying snake was thought to be only living in Sri-Lanka
Chrysopelea taprobanica is the scientific name for the Sri Lankan Flying Snake. And this snake seems to be going places. It was recently spotted in India by researchers Bubesh Guptha and N.V. Sivaram Prasad of the Biodiversity Lab. They spotted it in the Tirupati Wildlife Management Circle in Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve in the south Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. In November 2013, they collected the specimen and conducted studies and DNA tests to prove this is indeed the snake it was suspected to be! The results of their study have just been published.What is so special about this finding?
Herpetologists (scientists who study reptiles and amphibians) are flummoxed because never before has this snake been seen outside the island country of Sri Lanka. This snake is found mostly in the dryer parts of Sri Lanka but the latest sighting has proved that this spectacular snake is found in other parts of the world as well.The Chrysopelea taprobanica is not a water snake. So, how has it been spotted in a country separated from Sri Lanka by the Indian Ocean? The answer could be simple: Millions of years ago, peninsular India and Sri Lanka were one landmass called Gondwanaland. Later, they drifted apart. Perhaps, the snakes continued to flourish across both the landmasses an are only found now?
Although this is the first confirmed sighting of this snake outside of Sri Lanka; in 2000, a snake believed to be Chrysopelea taprobanica was spotted in Rishi Valley, Andhra Pradesh, and even photographed by one Mr. V. Santharam. But the specimen was not collected.
This unusual ability has caught the notice of physicists of the United States Department of Defense. Soon, this snake could inspire robots that will glide from place to place.The flying snake does not really fly. It has no wings. Instead, it thrusts its body away from the tree it is on and sucks its abdomen in and flares its ribs. This gives it a wider, concave body that acts like a wing, produce aerodynamic forces and helps it glide through the air for a short distance.
