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480 Featured Specimen
Green tree python

Details

Green tree python

Morelia viridis

Size
Total length 1.2–2 m · 1.1–1.6 kg
Diet
Carnivore
Activity
Nocturnal
Sociality
Solitary
Lifespan
15–20 years

The green tree python is a vivid green python of tropical forests. It coils on branches and ambushes small animals at night.

Range

Habitat range map
Native range Occasional / Transient
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Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Details

Habitat

It inhabits Australasian tropical forest. Humid canopy and shrub layers provide the branches where it rests and hunts.

Appearance

Total length 120-200 cm; weight 1.1-1.6 kg. Adults are bright green, sometimes with white or blue flecks. Young may be yellow or red before changing color as they mature.

Behavior

Nocturnal and solitary, it drapes the body over a branch like a saddle and rests the head in the middle. From this perch it waits for prey.

Feeding

A carnivore, it eats small mammals, birds, and lizards. It strikes from branches and kills by constriction.

Reproduction

Females lay eggs and coil around the clutch. Hatchlings are independent and begin arboreal life immediately.

Notes

It is listed as Least Concern. Its striking color makes trade management and forest protection important locally.