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Project Noah Nature School
Leptophis cupreus
WORLD SNAKE DAY!!! Also called the Turquoise Parrot Snake, the Despax’s Parrot Snake is endemic to Ecuador. This is a long, slender little snake that appears feisty as it normally opens its mouth very wide to intimidate enemies. It commonly attains a length of 3 ft, often more. The first 1/4 of the body is a beautiful turquoise color with the occasional copper scale. The further back you go the less the turquoise shows and the last half is just an occasional turquoise scale on a coppery brown background.
This snake was found hunting frogs in the pools alongside a dirt-runway in the Amazon rainforest in SE Ecuador (700 masl).
While appearing “ferocious” they very, very seldom bite. This is one of the most beautiful of the Amazonian snakes and, as it is endemic to Ecuador, perfect for World Snake Day
Spotted on Apr 4, 2009
Submitted on Jul 16, 2021
3 Comments
Thanks Jae and Sukanya. Indeed a beautiful little snake.
What a WONDERFUL shot!
Awesome footage, Tukup!