Snake displays changing colours

A snake with the ability to change its colour has been found in the rainforested heart of Borneo.

Researchers from Germany and the US discovered the water snake's chameleon-like behaviour by accident when they put it into a dark bucket.

It is about 50cm [18 inches] long, and poisonous.

It was Dr Auliya, a consultant for WWF, who discovered serendipitously its colour-changing capacity.

"I put the reddish-brown snake in a dark bucket," he said. "When I retrieved it a few minutes later, it was almost entirely white."

Unlike the chameleon, it is presumably not changing colour for camouflage.