On a “misty mountain” in Sri Lanka, a 2-foot-long creature moved quickly through the trees and came to rest on a branch. Its coloring largely helped it blend in — until something nearby spooked it.

Silvery-blue with dark bands, one of the world’s most venomous snakes, found in the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia. Glossy olive or purple-brown, aggressive when provoked, found in coral reefs around ...

Its tongue “is bluish-black with tiny light blue dots.” Photos show the blotchy brown coloring of the new species, which is “similar to that of the tree branches it inhabits.” The snake ...