Dendrelaphis formosus
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Dendrelaphis formosus, commonly known as either the elegant bronzeback or beautiful bronzeback tree snake, is a snake species in the family Colubridae from Southeast Asia. Dendrelaphis formosus belongs to the genus Dendrelaphis, which contains 48 other described species.
Dendrelaphis is one of five genera belonging to the vine snake subfamily Ahaetuliinae, of which Dendrelaphis is most closely related to Chrysopelea, as shown in the cladogram below: The beautiful bronzeback tree snake is native to southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia to the islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java. It inhabits lowland forests up to elevations of 600 m (2,000 ft). The snake is diurnal and fully arboreal, and has oviparous reproduction. It mainly feeds on lizards, but occasionally also frogs. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 2 | Khao Sok National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand | |
| 3 | Bako National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 4 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 5 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report an Elegant Bronzeback sighting in Khao Sok National Park on a given day, based on 20 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 16th most-seen of the 44 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February–March, August and October
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Elegant Bronzeback in Khao Sok National Park on a given day, against under 5% in July, September and December, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Elegant Bronzeback sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Elegant Bronzeback sightings, Khao Sok National Park ranks 2nd at about 30%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Taman Negara National Park (Malaysia, about 30%).
Same genus: Dendrelaphis
The closest relatives of the Elegant Bronzeback that you can see in Khao Sok National Park (genus Dendrelaphis, Bronzebacks) are Banded Bronzeback (about 20%) and Gray Bronzeback (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Elegant Bronzeback is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Khao Sok National Park (20 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
