EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week

Striated Bronzeback Treesnake

Striated Bronzeback Treesnake (Dendrelaphis striatus), Family Colubridae
Tanjung Puting National Park, Borneo, Indonesia

Explanation:  Watch your head!  During a nighttime exploration of the rainforest in Tanjung Puting National Park, in southern Borneo, Indonesia, my trail guide ahead spotted this beautiful serpent coiled along some  lower tree limbs.  This is a striated bronzeback treesnake ... so aptly named, with its dark band striations, its overall bronze-coloed back, residing in a tree, and, yes, being a snake.  

During the day it may descend to forage on the ground to feed on lizards, frogs, and other small animals.  Finding it stretched out along a branch in the tree understory at night tells me that it is likely using its coloration, its posture, and its arboreal location to avoid potential predation by raptors and larger snakes.  

One source suggests that the striated bronzeback treesnake (also called Cohn's bronzeback, with many scientific name synonyms) can alter its color to match its environment, although I could not find any scientific studies on this after a cursory literature search.  

The species is essentially harmless to people.  But ... this was the same trail, on the same night, where we previously spotted another serpent of the trees, that one a bit more dangerous! 

Striated bronzeback treesnakes occur in southeast Asia, notably Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.