Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm hoping someone can ID this snake. It was found in the Orinoco River Delta, Venezuela. It was descending down a tree at about 8:00 AM. By the size of the eyes I'm guessing a nocturnal snake. One of the guides called it a Yellow-tail Cribo but it does not look like Spilotes to me. Any ideas?
Thanks, Paul

It's a Chironius species, most likely C. carinatus. They're actually large diurnal racer-like snakes.
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Pierson Hill

Herpetology and Herpetoculture

Definitly Chironius-most likely C. carinatus

Frank
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"The luxury of not getting involved departed with the last lifeboat Skipper..."

You guys are good! That's what it is, fer sure, at least on the genus. I still say it looks more like Spilotes than it does Drymarchon, though. Heehee

~~Greg~~

The configuration & eyes look more like Spilotes than Drymarchon to me. What was the color & markings like on the dorsal side?

~~Greg~~

Thanks for the ID. It was a really beautiful snake. But nothing like the beast seen on the side of the road in Surinam. I was on a bus, dirt road and along side the road was a snake easily 7 ft. long, as thick as my wrist, blueish/green on the front 2/3rds of the body and vibrant yellow on the back 1/3rd. This was a quick look before it flung itself off the road and I mean flung. I thought Spilotes but nothing I've seen had these blue/green colors. By the time I got the bus stopped it was gone. One other person on the bus saw the snake and confirmed the colors. The blue/green could be iridescences but it seemed pretty solid. Any ideas??
Thanks again for the help.
Paul

>>Thanks for the ID. It was a really beautiful snake. But nothing like the beast seen on the side of the road in Surinam. I was on a bus, dirt road and along side the road was a snake easily 7 ft. long, as thick as my wrist, blueish/green on the front 2/3rds of the body and vibrant yellow on the back 1/3rd. This was a quick look before it flung itself off the road and I mean flung. I thought Spilotes but nothing I've seen had these blue/green colors. By the time I got the bus stopped it was gone. One other person on the bus saw the snake and confirmed the colors. The blue/green could be iridescences but it seemed pretty solid. Any ideas??
>>Thanks again for the help.
>>Paul

That does sound rather like a yellow-tail cribo (Drymarchon corais) - the blue/reen was more than likely a refelection. Did it have a very large head with large eyes like the snake in your photo, or a more "normal" head and eyes?

Go to http://www.indigosnakes.com/corais_pics.htm for some pics.

WW
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WW Home

I think your right about the reflection or even iridescence causing the remarkable colors. Unfortunatly I just did'nt get a good enough look before it disappeared. It was an impressive snake though....
Paul