Tangled skeins: a first report of non-captive mating behavior in the Southeast Asian Paradise Flying Snake (Reptilia: Squamata: Colubridae: Chrysopelea paradisi)

Hinrich Kaiser,Heike Worth,Johnny Lim,Mark O’Shea

doi:10.11609/jott.2440.8.2.8488-8494

Abstract

<p>We describe the courtship behavior of the Paradise Flying Snake, <em>Chrysopelea paradisi</em>, from a series of images taken near Sandakan, eastern Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia. During the episode observed, four males moved together with a female in various states of entanglement, traveling at ground level and into a series of bushes. The observations took place over the course of a 30-min period until the snakes were lost to view. Our report is the first direct observation of mating behavior in <em>C. paradisi</em> in the wild and provides another rare glimpse of the multi-male courtship in Southeast Asian colubrids.</p><div> </div>

Highlights

We describe the courtship behavior of the Paradise Flying Snake, Chrysopelea paradisi, from a series of images taken near Sandakan, eastern Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia
While Chrysopelea is a genus best known for its spectacular coloration and its ability to glide, we are happy to report that the interesting feats of these snakes includes multi-male courtship behavior

Summary

Introduction

Abstract: We describe the courtship behavior of the Paradise Flying Snake, Chrysopelea paradisi, from a series of images taken near Sandakan, eastern Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia. It is noteworthy that for a group of snakes as diverse as colubroids in Borneo, with recorded species numbering nearly 100 as of this writing (Uetz 2015), our earlier report on Dryophiops rubescens (Gray, 1835) remains the only one in the primary literature on their reproductive behavior in nature (Kaiser et al 2012).

Results

Conclusion