Do jumping snakes exist?

Snakes come in all shapes and sizes, with a wide variety of behaviors and abilities. Some snakes are known for their venom, others for squeezing their prey. But what about jumping snakes? Do snakes that can actually leap into the air exist?

Table of Contents

What are jumping snakes?

Jumping snakes, also sometimes called flying snakes, are snakes that can launch themselves into the air and glide from tree to tree. They propel themselves upwards by first crawling to the end of a branch. Then, they form a J-shape with their body, straightening very quickly to launch themselves into the air. As they glide, the ribs along their body expand to form a flattened, wing-like shape that allows them to coast through the air. This unique form of locomotion allows jumping snakes to move swiftly from tree to tree without touching the ground.

Do jumping snakes really exist?

Yes, jumping snakes most certainly do exist! Though most people don’t realize it, there are several species of snakes in the world that exhibit gliding or flying capabilities. The most well-known jumping snakes are found in the Chrysopelea genus, sometimes called Asian flying snakes or gliding snakes. This includes:

Chrysopelea paradisi – Paradise tree snake
Chrysopelea ornata – Ornate flying snake

Chrysopelea rhodopleuron – Twin-barred tree snake
Chrysopelea pelias – Moluccan flying snake

In addition to these Asian flying snakes, at least one species of jumping snake is found in Africa – the Chrysopelea rhodopleuron inhabiting Cameroon and Tanzania. So while uncommon, there are definitely real live snakes that can launch themselves through the air!

Where are jumping snakes found?

Jumping snakes are found throughout tropical regions of southern and southeastern Asia. This includes:

Southern China
Northern India

Sri Lanka
Bits of Pakistan
Southeast Asian countries like Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia

Some islands of the Philippines

These tropical treesnakes inhabit dense forests and jungles where there are plenty of trees for them to climb and launch from. The exception is the Chrysopelea species found in Africa, which inhabits rainforests in Cameroon and Tanzania.

How do jumping snakes actually jump?

Jumping snakes have an incredible ability to flatten and extend their ribs in order to turn their bodies into a pseudo-wing for gliding. Here is how they actually make their remarkable leaps:

The snake first climbs up a tree, heading for the end of a branch at least a few meters above ground.
Coiling its tail around the branch for leverage, the snake extends forward so its body is stretched out horizontally, forming a J-shape.
In a quick motion taking less than a second, the snake thrusts upwards and pushes away from the branch, straightening its J-curved body out into a stiff rod shape.

As it launches into the air, the snake rapidly spreads out its ribs perpendicular to its spine, flattening its body into a wing-like cross section.
With the flattened body and widespread ribs acting as a gliding surface, the snake can coast through the air, steering subtly by moving its head and tail to shift its center of gravity.
Reaching the next tree, the snake extends its tail and hooks around a new branch to land. It then pulls its gliding ribs back in before slithering off along the new tree.

This launching motion happens incredibly fast – these snakes can gild from a tree at speeds of about 4-5 meters per second!

How far can jumping snakes glide?

Different jumping snake species have been observed gliding various horizontal distances between trees and shrubs. Some examples include:

Paradise tree snake – Documented gliding up to 20-30 meters

Twin-barred tree snake – Regularly glides 10-15 meters
Ornate flying snake – Has made glides around 13 meters
Moluccan flying snake – Observed gliding up to 15 meters

Additionally, these snakes don’t just go straight across horizontally. They also can turn in the air and change elevation, spiraling upwards using thermal columns and wind patterns to gain a bit of altitude. The paradise tree snake has been observed ascending 10 meters during a jump before gliding forward. Overall though, most jumps tend to be under 20 meters in length.

Why do jumping snakes jump?

Scientists hypothesize a few key reasons why these tropical snakes may have evolved such a unique gliding ability:

Get between trees quickly – Gliding allows the snakes to swiftly move through the forest canopy without going to the forest floor.

Evade predators – By launching into the air, jumping snakes can escape quickly from predators.
Catch prey – Gliding stealthily from tree to tree can help the snakes sneak up on arboreal prey like lizards.
Find mates – The snakes may be able to locate mates more easily by fanning out aerially through the treetops.

Additionally, some biologists propose the gliding may have evolved to help the snakes get between disconnected forest fragments as habitats shifted over time. Overall, the Snakes likely developed this remarkable skillset to improve hunting and access disjointed arboreal habitats.

How do jumping snakes maneuver while airborne?

Jumping snakes steer and control their aerial movements using a few key techniques:

Shifting body weight – Snakes can subtly adjust the positioning of their head, tail, and core to shift their center of gravity and steer in the air.

Undulating body – Wiggling motions along the length of the snake’s body allow it to make minor adjustments to stabilize its glide.
Extending neck – Snakes can extend their neck out to alter drag and alter direction.
Curling tail – Curling the tail up or down on approach helps adjust aerodynamic stability for landing.

Jumping snakes have also been observed rolling their bodies along the long axis for stability, much like an aircraft barrel roll. Additionally, the ribs along their underside tend to tilt and bend dynamically to help maintain and control the aerodynamic lift force keeping the snake aloft.

How do their bodies allow jumping snakes to glide?

Jumping snakes possess several key physical adaptations that allow them to turn their slender bodies into effective airfoils for gliding:

Extremely flexible ribs – Their ribs can spread apart widely on demand, flattening the snake out to twice its width.

Smaller heart and liver – Compact organs leave more room for the wide ribs to expand.
Flattened cross-section – The circular body flattens into an airplane-wing shape for gliding.
Undulating scales – Scales along the belly have wave-like ridges that may improve aerodynamic performance.

These adaptations give the snakes an improved lift-to-drag ratio that lets them coast long distances through the air without losing much altitude.

How did jumping snakes evolve?

Gliding flight has evolved separately in several different types of reptiles, including dragon lizards and certain geckos. However, jumping snakes stand out as the only known limbless animals to have developed aerial gliding capabilities.

Scientists are still working to uncover the evolutionary history that led to these unique snakes. A few key factors that may have driven the evolution of gliding include:

Living in dense, multilevel forest environments with limited ground access.
Pressure to escape predators by jumping between disjointed tree canopies.
Need for energy efficient travel between scattered food resources up in trees.

Modifications of pre-existing abilities to compress body shape for climbing narrow branches.

Jumping snakes seem to have incrementally developed more advanced gliding abilities over time from small aerial hops between bushes into the full-on glides we see today. Their amazing ability to maneuver midair shows just how far natural selection can push for extreme physical adaptations!

Are jumping snakes closely related to other snakes?

The various Chrysopelea jumping snake species are closely related to each other, all residing in the same genus. However, they are more distant relatives to other types of snakes. Jumping snakes belong to the Colubridae family, which contains roughly two-thirds of all known living snake species.

This large, diverse family includes other arboreal species like vine snakes and tree snakes. Though they share common ancestors, jumping snakes display their own unique gliding adaptations separate from other colubrids. Within the Colubridae, they are most closely related to the genus Dendrelaphis, which contains common bronzeback tree snakes found throughout southeast Asia.

Phylogenetic tree of jumping snake relationships:

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata

Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata

Suborder: Serpentes
Infraorder: Alethinophidia

Family: Colubridae
Subfamily: Colubrinae
Genus: Chrysopelea (jumping snakes)

So while unusual compared to most snakes, jumping snakes still group evolutionarily with other rear-fanged colubrid tree snakes. Their gliding ability is a more specialized trait not shared by their closest branch of relatives in the Colubrine subfamily of Colubrids.

Can other snakes jump or glide?

A handful of other snakes outside the Chrysopelea genus have been anecdotally reported to make short jumping or gliding moves. However, these occurrences are rare and lack the directed aerial control exhibited by true jumping snakes.

A few examples of possible gliding in other snakes include:

Rhabdophis snakes – Keelback snakes in Thailand were reported gliding on rare occasions, potentially up to 18 meters.

Ahaetulla nasuta – Video exists of a vine snake gliding briefly after being dropped from a height.
Xylophis snake – A captain observed a wood snake glide down from trees into a river repeatedly.

Additionally, some heavy-bodied vipers like Gaboon vipers and rhinoceros vipers have very rarely been reported making small leaping motions when striking. However, these motions are horizontal terrestrial hops, not sustained midair glides.

Overall, only Chrysopelea jumping snakes possess the specialized anatomy and behavior enabling them to deliberately glide long distances between trees. Other snakes may make uncontrolled descents or brief hops on rare occasion, but do not exhibit true gliding flight like the flying snakes of southeast Asia and Africa.

Are jumping snake populations threatened or endangered?

Currently, most jumping snake species are not considered threatened or endangered. Their biggest threat is likely deforestation, which destroys the forest habitat these arboreal snakes rely on. However, they are also quite adaptable snakes, and can tolerate some habitat disturbance and fragmentation.

Here are the conservation statuses for key jumping snake species:

Species	Conservation Status
Paradise tree snake	Least Concern
Ornate flying snake	Least Concern
Twin-barred tree snake	Least Concern
Moluccan flying snake	Near Threatened

The Moluccan flying snake in Indonesia is the only jumping snake currently approaching threatened status primarily due to logging of its rainforest habitat. But most other species remain fairly widespread and abundant across their ranges. Targeted conservation efforts may be needed in the future if deforestation increases.

Can you keep jumping snakes as pets?

Jumping snakes are not very common as pets, but a few specialized enthusiasts and herpetologists have kept and bred them in captivity. Of the Asian flying snakes, twin-barred tree snakes are probably encountered most frequently in the exotic pet trade.

Here are some key considerations for potentially keeping jumping snakes as pets:

They require large, tall terrariums with plenty of climbing branches and prey food sources. Gliding space is essential.
Can be fed small geckos, anoles, tree frogs, small fish, and nestling rodents. They are not picky eaters.
Docile temperaments, but can bite and draw blood if handled roughly or threatened.

Require a tropical environment between 25-30°C and high humidity.
Wild caught specimens do not always acclimate well to captivity.

Overall, jumping snakes need specialized care and housing different than most pet snakes. But for an experienced herpetology enthusiast, they can make fascinating display animals.

Key facts about jumping snakes

There are 5 species of jumping snake capable of gliding flight using wing-like flattened ribs.
Found in tropical forests of southeast Asia and some parts of Africa.
Launch from trees, gliding 10-30 meters between branches.

Maneuver in air by shifting body weight and making subtle undulating motions.
Ribs can expand sideways to form aerodynamic cross-section for gliding.
Likely evolved for quick access to food and mates high up in forest canopies.

Classified in the Chrysopelea genus of the colubrid snake family.
Most species are not considered threatened or endangered currently.
Require specialized large, arboreal enclosures if kept as pets.

Conclusion

Jumping snakes are a remarkable example of aerial gliding adaptation in limbless reptiles. Their ability to launch off branches and maneuver through the air demonstrates how evolution can select for extreme physical abilities in certain environmental contexts. These snakes have developed robust rib modifications and refined aerodynamic control techniques enabling their gravity-defying glides from tree to tree. While little-known, flying snakes clearly show that just about anything is possible through the gradual forces of natural selection.