cog-nito: Green Tree Python (Morelia viridis)
Enter the fascinating and captivating world of this extraordinary beauty, the green tree python, also known by scientists and taxonomy enthusiasts alike as Morelia viridis. Adults average 3.9 to 6.6 feet in length, however, there are always the individuals who surpass these measurements. Found in Indonesia, Papau New Guinea, Australia, and Normanby Island, the green tree python is mainly arboreal, meaning trees are the preferred habitat. These snakes have a unique way of resting in branches, they loop around in a saddle position and rest their head atop the coils. Small mammals and occasionally other reptiles are top o’ the menu, captured by gripping a branch with its prehensile tail and striking out with an s-shape and constricting the prey. Pythons are constrictors, meaning they use constrictive pressure in order to dispatch prey. The supralabial scales (scales bordering upper jaw) have thermoreceptive pits, which aids in sensing temperature change and finding prey in the dark of night. Green tree pythons are nocturnal, which might explain the especially large eyes. They are oviparous, laying 1 to 25 eggs per clutch, usually protected by the female in a hollow tree. The green tree python is classified as least concern by the IUCN Red List.
Photo credits: Pphotography-blog
one of the really interesting things about the GTP is that their resting position isn’t unique!
convergent evolution— the process where unrelated species develop the same adaptations— is a really neat thing! the GTP is a highly arboreal constrictor snake that specialises in rainforest canopies… but the thing is, it isn’t the only one.
the one on top is a GTP, but the one on the bottom is an Emerald Tree Boa (Corallus caninus). they live on very different continents (Australia vs South America) and are really unrelated— the last time their ancestors partied was 86 million years ago (for reference, cats and cows split 80 million years ago)— but they look and behave more or less the same.
we’re generally used to thinking that animals that look similar are more closely related than animals that look different, but environmental pressures can result in some unrelated species looking the same, and closely-related species looking wildly different.
after all, molecular studies have shown that the closest relative of the flamingo is the grebe, a type of bird which is basically just a halfhearted duck.
convergence: a really neat and under appreciated phenomenon!
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callanswall 