CHRYSOPELEA. 177 



from neck : eye rather large, with round pupil. Body elongate, 

 compressed ; scales smooth or feebly keeled, oblique, with apical 

 pits, in 17 rows; veutrals with suture-like lateral keel and a notch 

 on each side corresponding to the keel. Tail long ; subcaudals in 

 two rows, keeled and notched like the ventrals. 



Fig. 54. — Head of Chrysopelea ornata (after Sordelli). 



These tree-snakes, the opisthoglyphous analogues of the Dendro- 

 phis, are known as Elying-Suakes, from the habit they have of 

 shooting down from trees and descending to the ground at an 

 oblique angle, the body being kept rigid the wliole tim.e of the 

 " flight." Mr. Shelford, who has investigated the phenomenon 

 (P. Z. S. 1906, p. 227), finds that the ventral surface between the 

 lateral keels, which he compares to. hinges, can be drawn inwards, 

 so that the snake becomes deeply concave along the ventral surface; 

 at the same time there is a slight dorso- ventral flattening of the 

 body. During this muscular contraction the snake is like a piece 

 of bamboo bisected longitudinally, and is buoyed up in such a way 

 as to explain its parachute-like descent from trees. 



Two species are known in the Malay Peninsula. 



194. Chrysopelea ornata. 



Colitber oniatus, Shaw, Zool. iii, p. 477 (1802). 



Chrysopelea ornata. Bole, 1. c. : Bouleng. Fauu. Brit. lud., Rept. 



p. 371 (1890) ; id. Cat. Sn. iii, p. 196 (1896) ; S. Flower, P. Z. S. 



1899, p. 682; Wall, Journ. Nat. HLst. Soc. Bombay, xviii, 



p. 227, pi. vi (1908). 

 Leptophis orjiatus, part., Cantor, Jouru. Asiat. Soc. Beno-al, xvi, 



p. 934 (1847). 

 Chrysopelea ornata, part., Gunth. Rept. Brit. lud. p. 299 (1864). 



Snout much depressed, squarely truncate. Eostral broader than 

 deep ; internasals nearly as long as the prsefrontals ; frontal once 

 and one third to once and two thirds as long as broad, nearly as 

 long as its distance from the end of the snout, as long as or 

 slig-htly shorter than the parietals ; loreal small and elongate 

 (rarely fused with the pryefrontal) ; one prteocular, often in 



