The Green Vine Snake is a species of Colubrid snake that is native to Central America and parts of Northern South America.
This snake has a toxic venom which it uses to help take down prey. However, this venom generally has little to no effect on humans.
Green Vine Snake Taxonomy
In the Animal Kingdom, Taxonomy is used as the science and practice of classifying different species and sub-species based on their biological and genetic makeup.
Family
The Green Vine Snake belongs to the Colubridae or Colubrid family of snakes. This is the largest family of Snakes in the world consisting of many popular species such as Corn Snakes and Milk Snakes.
With around 250 different genera of Colubrids, these snakes can be found on every continent except Antarctica which also makes them the most widely distributed family of snake in the world.
The vast majority of Colubrid snakes are non-venomous, or at least contain a venom that isn’t considered to be medically significant to humans.
However, there are a number of species of Colubrid snakes that contain venom capable of killing humans. This includes species from the Boiga and Rhabdophis genera as well as other snakes such as the Boomslang.
Genus
The genus that the Green Vine Snake belongs to is called Oxybelis which is a genus of Vine Snake that is native to the Americas.
There is another genus of Vine Snake in Asia (Ahaetulla) which are similar in appearance, such as the Asian Vine Snake.
However, these snakes are not closely related and it is a great example of convergent evolution.
There are currently 6 recognised species in the Oxybelis genus including the Brown Vine Snake and the Cope’s Vine Snake.
Species
The scientific name for the Green Vine Snake is Oxybelis fulgidus and there are currently no recognised sub-species.
The species was first described in 1803 as Coluber fulgidus. It was layer changed to Dryophis fulgidus before becoming Oxybelis fulgidus in 1854.
Green Vine Snake Description
The Green Vine Snake is a very long and slender snake that can grow to over 6 feet in length although most specimens are a little smaller.
Their head is pronounced from the neck and triangular in shape with a pointed snout.
It has a leafy green coloration which covers its entire body. This coloration helps the snake to blend in perfectly amongst the vegetation it is climbing on.
Even the belly of the snake is a lighter green coloration which further aids its camouflage, looking like the duller underside of a leaf.
Their eyes are positioned on the side of their head and consists of a round pupil surrounded by a gold-colored iris.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
The Green Vine Snake is native to much of Central America and much of the Northern parts of South America.
In Central America, these snakes can be found in parts of Southern America in regions such as Quintana Roo, Yucatan, Campeche, Tabasco, Chiapas and Oaxaca.
Their range extends Southwards throughout most of Central America in countries such as Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama.
In South America, the Green Vine Snake can be found in places such as Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname and the Northern parts of Brazil.
These snakes like to live in rainforests and other areas of dense, humid vegetation where they can be very difficult to see due to their excellent camouflage.
This species occupies some of the same geographical range as species such as the Honduran Milk Snake, the Emerald Swift Lizard and the Brown Basilisk.
Green Vine Snake Behaviour
The Green Vine Snake is a highly arboreal species that will spend the vast majority of its time up in the canopy of the rainforest.
They are ambush predators that will sit and wait with their head pointing downwards to strike at unsuspecting prey below them.
When these snakes feel threatened, they will flatten their head to appear larger and more threatening. While this looks like aggressive behaviour, it is really just a defensive bluff.
They often prey on birds and it is reported that they tend to have a preference for hummingbirds.
Venom
The Green Vine Snake is a venomous snake with the venom located in fangs in the back of the snake’s mouth.
The snake needs to grab onto prey and ‘chew’ in order to inject the venom into its victim.
While the venom is very beneficial at helping to immobilising small animals and assisting with digestion, it is generally considered harmless to humans.
The snake would need to bit a human and ‘chew’ in order to be able to inject venom as their delivery system is poor, resulting in very few reported cases of human envenomation.
Even in cases where humans have been injected with venom, symptoms are usually very mild with reports of slight tingling and numbness around the source of the bite.
However, any bote from a venomous snake, regardless of how toxic should be taken seriously as allergic reactions to the venom could be serious.