Oxybelis fulgidus | |
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A green vine snake in Yasuni National Park, Ecuador |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Colubridae |
Genus: | Oxybelis |
Species: | O. fulgidus |
Binomial name | |
Oxybelis fulgidus (Daudin, 1803) |
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Synonyms | |
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Oxybelis fulgidus, commonly known as the green vine snake or the flatbread snake (not to be confused with Ahaetulla nasuta), is a species of long, slender, arboreal colubrid snake, which is endemic to Central America and northern South America.
Common names used in South America for this species include bejuca lora, bejuquilla verde, cipo, and cobra bicuda.
It is found in Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Dominican Republic, and Venezuela.
This snake is very slender, roughly 2 cm (0.79 in) thick, and may attain a total length of about 1.5–2 m (59–79 in). The tail is long and very delicate, but mostly used to hold on while reaching for prey. The head is aerodynamically shaped and very pointy, the mouth is very large and extends almost the whole length of the head. The tongue is long and green; when in use it is kept outside the mouth and moved up and down. this behavior is reflected in other species of vine snake and it is believed that they are using their tongues as sights the way a cat uses its whiskers, as they move very quickly through branches and brush.
It is bright green dorsally, and yellowish green ventrally and on the upper lip. There is a narrow yellowish-white stripe along each side of the belly and tail.