Editing Green tree python

{{Short description|Species of snake}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = M. viridis.jpg
| image_caption = Green tree python at [[Sydney Zoo]]
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn|author=Tallowin O|author-link=Oliver Tallowin|author2= Parker F |author2-link=Frederick Stanley "Fred" Parker||author3=O'Shea M|author3-link=Mark O'Shea (herpetologist) |author4=Hoskin C|author4-link=Conrad J. Hoskin|author5=Couper P|author5-link=Patrick J. Couper|author6=Amey A|author6-link=Andrew P. Amey|year=2018|title= ''Morelia viridis''|page= e.T177524A21649845 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T177524A21649845.en}}</ref>
| genus = Morelia (snake)
| species = viridis
| authority = ([[Hermann Schlegel|Schlegel]], 1872)
| synonyms = {{Collapsible list
|''Python viridis'' <br>{{small|Schlegel, 1872}}
|''Chondropython azureus'' <br>{{small|[[Adolf Bernard Meyer|Meyer]], 1874}}
|''Chondropython pulcher'' <br>{{small|[[Henri Émile Sauvage|Sauvage]], 1878}}
|''Chondropython azureus'' <br>{{small|— [[Wilhelm Peters|W. Peters]] & [[Giacomo Doria|Doria]], 1878}}
|''Chondropython viridis'' <br>{{small|— [[George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger]], 1893}}
|''Chondropython viridis'' <br>{{small|— [[James Roy Kinghorn|Kinghorn]], 1928}}
|''Chondropython viridis'' <br>{{small|— [[Samuel Booker McDowell|McDowell]], 1975}}
|''Morelia viridis'' <br>{{small|— [[:fr:Garth Underwood|Underwood]] & [[Andrew Francis Stimson|Stimson]], 1990}}
|''Chondropython viridis'' <br>{{small|— [[Harold Cogger|Cogger]], 1992}}
|''M'' [''orelia'']. ''viridis'' <br>{{small|— [[Arnold G. Kluge|Kluge]], 1993}}
}}
| synonyms_ref = <ref name="McD99"/>
}}

The '''green tree python''' ('''''Morelia viridis'''''), is a [[species]] of [[snake]] in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Pythonidae]]. The species is native to [[New Guinea]], some islands in [[Indonesia]], and the [[Cape York Peninsula]] in [[Australia]]. First described by [[Hermann Schlegel]] in 1872, it was known for many years as ''Chondropython viridis''. As its [[common name]] suggests, it is a bright green snake that can reach a total length (including tail) of {{cvt|2|m|ft}} and a weight of {{cvt|1.6|kg|lb}}, with females slightly larger and heavier than males. Living generally in trees, the green tree python mainly hunts and eats small reptiles and mammals. It is a popular pet, and numbers in the wild have suffered with large-scale smuggling of wild-caught green tree pythons in Indonesia. Despite this, the green tree python is rated as [[least concern]] on the [[IUCN Red List]] of endangered species.

==Taxonomy==
German naturalist [[Hermann Schlegel]] described the green tree python in 1872 as ''Python viridis'',<ref>{{cite book|first=Hermann|last=Schlegel|author-link=Hermann Schlegel|year=1872|title=De Dierentuin van het Koninklijk Zoölogisch Genootschap Natura Artis Magistra te Amsterdam, Reptilia|location=Amsterdam|page=54}} (in Dutch).</ref> from two specimens collected in the [[Aru Islands Regency|Aru Islands]] of Indonesia.<ref name="AFD">{{cite web|url=https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/Morelia_viridis|title=Species ''Morelia viridis'' (Schlegel, 1872)  |author=Australian Biological Resources Study|date=1 March 2017|work=Australian Faunal Directory|publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australian Government|access-date=20 June 2017|location=Canberra, Australian Capital Territory}}</ref> His countryman [[Adolf Bernhard Meyer]] erected the genus ''Chondropython'' (though recognised similarity to ''[[Morelia_(snake)|Morelia]]'') and described the green tree python as ''Chondropython azureus'' in 1874,<ref>{{cite journal|first=Adolf Bernhard|last=Meyer|author-link=Adolf Bernhard Meyer|title=''Eine mitteilung von Hrn. Dr. Adolf Bernhard Meyer über die von ihm auf Neu-Guinea den Inseln Jobi, Mysore und Mafoor im Jahr 1873 gesammelten Amphibien ''|journal=Monatsberichte der Königlichen Preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin|year=1874|volume=1874 |pages=128–140 [134]|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36626432}} (in German).</ref> from a specimen collected in "Kordo", later determined to be Korido on [[Biak]] Island. This was destroyed in World War II.<ref name=barker2015/> French naturalist [[Henri Émile Sauvage]] described ''Chondropython pulcher'' from a specimen from [[Mansinam Island]], Irian Jaya.

For many years, the green tree python was classified as the [[Monotypic taxon|only species]] of the genus ''Chondropython'', with the binomial name ''C. viridis''. In 1993, Professor [[Arnold G. Kluge]] published a detailed phylogenetic analysis that found that the green tree python was nested within the genus ''Morelia'' and most closely related to the [[rough-scaled python]] (''M. carinata'').<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kluge|first=Arnold G.|author-link=Arnold G. Kluge|title=''Aspidites'' and the phylogeny of pythonine snakes|journal=Records of the Australian Museum|year=1993|doi=10.3853/j.0812-7387.19.1993.52|pages=1–77 [45]|url=https://australianmuseum.net.au/uploads/journals/16847/52_complete.pdf|volume=19|access-date=2017-06-22|archive-date=2016-09-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160922185943/http://australianmuseum.net.au/uploads/journals/16847/52_complete.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Hence, it became ''Morelia viridis''. Two studies of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA published in 2013 and 2014 came up with differing results, one confirming the species in ''Morelia'', the other placing it as an early offshoot with the Children's python genus ''[[Antaresia]]''. This latter result was thought anomalous by later researchers.<ref name=barker2015>{{cite journal | last1=Barker |first1= David G.|first2= Tracy M. | last2=Barker |first3= Mark A. | last3=Davis |first4=Gordon W. | last4=Schuett | title=A review of the systematics and taxonomy of Pythonidae: an ancient serpent lineage | journal= Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=175 |issue= 1 |year=2015|pages= 1–19 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/274892692 | doi=10.1111/zoj.12267|doi-access=free }}</ref>

[[Raymond Hoser]] described the Australian population as a separate subspecies ''Chondropython viridis shireenae'', after his wife Shireen, noting that the taxon consistently had white markings along the backbone, whereas snakes from New Guinea and Indonesia only sometimes had this trait, and the molecular analysis would bear out the distinctness.<ref>{{cite journal | last= Hoser |first= Raymond | year= 2003 |title= Five new Australian pythons |journal= Newsletter Macarthur Herpetological Society |issue= 40|pages= 4–9 |url=http://www.smuggled.com/PytRev11.htm}}</ref> A genetic study by Lesley Rawlings and Stephen Donnellan in 2003 of mitochondrial DNA of the green tree python found two distinct lineages: a southern lineage comprising populations of Australia, the Aru Islands, and New Guinea south of the central highlands, and a northern lineage of New Guinea north of the central highlands and the [[Vogelkop Peninsula]], and Biak Island. The two likely diverged around 5 million years ago with the rising of the central mountain range in New Guinea. The authors suggested this might explain poor breeding success in Australia if people were unknowingly trying to breed the northern and southern green tree pythons, as they were not closely related. The two taxa are indistinguishable in appearance.<ref name=rawlings03>{{cite journal|last1=Rawlings|first1=Lesley H.|first2=Stephen C.|last2=Donnellan|author-link2=Steve Donnellan (scientist)|title=Phylogeographic analysis of the green python, ''Morelia viridis'', reveals cryptic diversity|journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution|volume=27|issue=1|year=2003|pages=36–44|doi=10.1016/S1055-7903(02)00396-2|pmid=12679069}}</ref>

==Description==
[[Image:gruenebaumpython4cele4.jpg|thumb|''M. viridis'']]
The green tree python is characterized by a relatively slim body. The long tail accounts for about 14% of the total length. The head is large and clearly defined from the neck. The snout is large and angular. The body is triangular in cross section with a visible spine. The species usually reaches a total length (including tail) of {{cvt|150|–|180|cm|ft}}, but large females may reach {{cvt|200|cm|ft}}. The size also varies depending on the region of origin. The weight is highly dependent upon the nutritional status of the animal. Males can weigh about {{cvt|1100|-|1400|g|lb}}, females up to {{cvt|1600|g|lb}}, although wild specimens are typically much lighter than this. Especially large specimens that can weigh up to {{cvt|2200|g|lb}} are invariably females, which, like most snakes, are slightly larger and heavier than males.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}}

==Distribution and habitat==
''M. viridis'' is found in Eastern [[Indonesia]] ([[Misool]], [[Salawati]], [[Aru Islands]], [[Schouten Islands]], most of [[Western New Guinea]]), [[Papua New Guinea]] (including nearby islands from sea level to 1,800 m elevation, [[Normanby Island, Papua New Guinea|Normanby Island]] and the [[d'Entrecasteaux Islands]]) and [[Australia]] ([[Queensland]] along the east coast of the [[Cape York Peninsula]]). The [[type locality (biology)|type locality]] given is "Aroe-eilanden" (Aru Islands, Indonesia).<ref name="McD99">[[:fr:Roy Wallace McDiarmid|McDiarmid RW]], [[Jonathan A. Campbell|Campbell JA]], [[T'Shaka Touré|Touré T]] (1999). ''Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, Volume 1''. Washington, District of Columbia: Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. {{ISBN|1-893777-00-6}} (series). {{ISBN|1-893777-01-4}} (volume)</ref>

This species is [[sympatric]] with ''[[Morelia spilota|M. spilota]]'' and the two often compete in the same ecological niche.

The preferred natural [[habitat]] of ''M. viridis'' is in or near [[rainforest]]s, and the species is primarily arboreal, residing in trees, shrubs, and bushes. Occasionally, it is seen on the ground.<ref name="McD99"/>

==Biology==
===Behaviour===
Primarily [[Arboreal locomotion|arboreal]], ''M. viridis'' has a particular way of resting in the branches of trees; it loops a coil or two over the branches in a [[saddle]] position and places its head in the middle of its loops.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://exoticaanimals.ru/reptilii/zmei/zelenyj-drevesnyj-piton/ |title=Зеленый древесный питон- купить зеленого питона в |website=Exotic Animals |access-date=2015-11-18 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119115459/http://exoticaanimals.ru/reptilii/zmei/zelenyj-drevesnyj-piton/ |archive-date=2015-11-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref> This trait is shared with the [[emerald tree boa]] (''Corallus caninus'') of South America. This habit, along with their similar appearance, has caused people to confuse the two species when they are seen outside their natural habitat.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024|reason=A popular article showcasing the confusion between the two taxa would be useful}}

===Diet===
The diet of green tree pythons consists mostly of small mammals, such as [[murid rodents]] (''[[Melomys capensis]]'', ''[[Melomys cervinipes|M. cervinipes]]'', ''[[Mus domesticus]]'', ''[[Rattus leucopus]]'', other ''[[Rattus]] spp.''), and sometimes reptiles, such as [[gecko]]s and [[skink]]s (''[[Carlia longipes]]''), and [[invertebrate]]s.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Shine|first1=Richard|author-link=Richard Shine|first2=David J.|last2=Slip|title=Biological aspects of the adaptive radiation of Australasian pythons (Serpentes: Boidae)|journal=Herpetologica|year=1990|volume=46|pages=283–290|url=http://www.kingsnake.com/aho/pdf/menu3/shine1990.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=''Morelia viridis'' (Green tree python)|date= n.d.|website= Animal Diversity Web |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Morelia_viridis/}}</ref> This snake, like the emerald tree boa, was previously thought to eat [[bird]]s; however, [[Karl-Heinz Switak|Switak]] conducted [[field work]] on this issue. In examining stomach contents of more than 1,000 animals, he did not find any evidence of avian prey.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024|reason=Switak's paper for confirmation}} Prey is captured by holding onto a branch using the [[prehensile]] tail and striking out from an S-shaped position and [[Constriction|constricting]] the prey. Wild specimens have also been observed and photographed wrapped around the base of small tree trunks facing down in an ambush position, presumably waiting for ground mammals to prey upon.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}}

===Reproduction===
{{Multiple image
| image1            = JBR 7494.jpg
| image2            = Green Tree Python juvenile A22I6572.jpg
| footer            = Color variation in neonates
| direction         = vertical
}}
''M. viridis'' is [[oviparous]], laying one to 25 viable eggs per [[Clutch (eggs)|clutch]]. Breeding has never been reported from the wild, but in captivity, eggs are [[Egg incubation|incubated]] and protected by the female. Hatchlings are lemon-yellow with broken stripes and spots of purple and brown; or golden- or orange-red. For yellow individuals at [[Iron Range National Park]], Australia, the color change occurred over 5–10 days when individuals were {{cvt|58|–|60|cm|in|round=0.5}} long, which corresponds to about a year old. Color change for red juveniles has not been observed in the wild.{{citation needed|date=September 2015}}

=== Lifespan ===
Information on actual ages in the wild is limited for ''Morelia viridis''. However, a population at Iron Range on Cape York Peninsula, Australia had an average age of 3.4 years. It is predicted that these pythons could live for at least 15 years, with a maximum age of 19. Green tree pythons in captivity have lived only slightly longer with the record age set at 20 years old.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wilson |first=D. |last2=Heinsohn |first2=R. |last3=Wood |first3=J. |date=2006-07-26 |title=Life‐history traits and ontogenetic colour change in an arboreal tropical python, <i>Morelia viridis</i> |url=https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00190.x |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=270 |issue=3 |pages=399–407 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00190.x |issn=0952-8369|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Human impact==
===Captivity===
The green tree python is often bred and kept in captivity, although it is usually considered an advanced species due to its specific care requirements and generally irritable temperament.  However, with proper care, it usually thrives in captivity.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Ron|last1=Kivit|first2=Stephen|last2=Wiseman|year=2005|title=The Green Tree Python and Emerald Tree Boa - Care, Breeding and Natural History|publisher=Kirschner & Seufer Verlag|isbn=3-9808264-0-6}}</ref> It is a popular species among [[Herpetoculture|reptile enthusiasts and breeders]] on account of its adult and juvenile colours. This has led to large numbers being illegally caught in the wild to the detriment of native populations. Transport is hazardous to the snakes' health and up to half are thought to perish in the smuggling process. The species is protected by the [[CITES|Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora]] with its placement on the Appendix II list of vulnerable species, which makes the import, export, and trade of listed wild-caught animals illegal. In 1999, it was fully protected under national legislation in Indonesia.<ref name=lyons/>

Despite this, a flourishing [[Illegal wildlife trade|illegal trade]] continues, and  wildlife breeding farms were found to be serving as conduits to funnel wild-caught green tree pythons out of Indonesia. Investigation in the provinces of [[Maluku (province)|Maluku]]b, West Papua, and Papua from 2009 to 2011 revealed that 80% of green tree pythons exported were caught in the wild, an estimate of around 5337 individuals a year. Harvesting of wild green tree pythons was heaviest in Biak and neighbouring islands, with resulting population decline.<ref name=lyons>{{cite journal | last1=Lyons|first1= Jessica A. |first2= Daniel JD |last2=Natusch |title=Wildlife laundering through breeding farms: illegal harvest, population declines and a means of regulating the trade of green pythons (''Morelia viridis'') from Indonesia |journal=Biological Conservation |volume=144|issue=12 |year=2011|pages= 3073–81 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2011.10.002|bibcode= 2011BCons.144.3073L }}</ref>

===Conservation===
In 2010, the green tree python was rated as least concern on the IUCN Red List of endangered species on the basis of its large range and isolated declines in population from smuggling. However, the threat from smuggling for the pet trade was recognised and requires monitoring.<ref name="iucn"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* {{NRDB species|genus=Morelia|species=viridis|date=19 September|year=2007}}
{{Pythonidae}}<ref><r</ref></ref>

{{Taxonbar|from=Q849394}}

[[Category:Morelia (snake)]]
[[Category:Reptiles of Queensland]]
[[Category:Snakes of New Guinea]]
[[Category:Reptiles described in 1872]]
[[Category:Snakes of Australia]]
[[Category:Taxa with lost type specimens]]