The Green tree pythons and the Emerald tree boas are stunningly beautiful snakes, never easy to find in the jungle because of their cryptic arboreal habits and their incredible camouflage. Their green bodies blend into the foliage where they spend the days tightly coiled up over a branch in their typical resting position, moving around and occasionally descending to the ground only at night.

They live in tropical rainforests where they occupy the same niche; both species look very similar, behave in identical fashion and share many of their ecological characteristics. Perhaps the most striking similarity is that, despite the fact that these two snakes are found on opposite sides of the world, they both share the most unusual trait of starting their lives bright yellow.There are, however, significant differences between the two. 

Taxonomically, the Green tree pythons belong to the sub family Pythoninae, whilst the Emerald tree boas belong to the sub-family Boinae. The real difference is that pythons lay eggs (oviparity) and boas give birth to live young (ovoviviparity). Other aspects that separate the two species are the presence and absence of supraorbital bones on their skulls, the presence and absence of premaxilla teeth on the upper jaw, and their aforementioned geographical distribution.

Green tree pythons are found in Papua New Guinea, on some of the nearby islands and in northeastern Australia. Emerald tree boas inhabit the jungles of South America. Considering this enormous geographical separation, what is the relationship or the common origin of the two species, living on opposite sides of the globe?

Similarities
Before addressing this question, we first must look at some of the features that make these two species so similar yet so distinctive. Both green tree pythons and emerald tree boas are probably themost arboreal of all the Boids (Boidae is a family comprising pythons and boas), and have a particular way of resting in the branches of trees.

They loop a coil or two over the branches in a saddle position and place their head in the middle. This habit, along with their appearance, is the primary cause of confusion between the two species when seen outside their natural habitat. Living in the rainforest canopy presents many challenges and requires some special adaptations, such as a prehensile Green tree python and Emerald tree boa tail and the ability to find and secure food in three dimensions.

Being nocturnal, their eyes are adapted for night vision, but both species also have well developed thermoreceptors to detect warm-blooded prey over some distance. In Green tree pythons, these receptors, called labial pits, are positioned on each side of the bottom jaw on such an angle that the snake is able to pinpoint the location of the prey. Emerald tree boas have the pits on their upper lips.

The Green tree pythons and the Emerald tree boas are stunningly beautiful snakes, never easy to find in the jungle because of their cryptic arboreal habits and their incredible camouflage. Their green bodies blend into the foliage where they spend the days tightly coiled up over a branch in their typical resting position, moving around and occasionally descending to the ground only at night.

They live in tropical rainforests where they occupy the same niche; both species look very similar, behave in identical fashion and share many of their ecological characteristics. Perhaps the most striking similarity is that, despite the fact that these two snakes are found on opposite sides of the world, they both share the most unusual trait of starting their lives bright yellow.There are, however, significant differences between the two. 

Taxonomically, the Green tree pythons belong to the sub family Pythoninae, whilst the Emerald tree boas belong to the sub-family Boinae. The real difference is that pythons lay eggs (oviparity) and boas give birth to live young (ovoviviparity). Other aspects that separate the two species are the presence and absence of supraorbital bones on their skulls, the presence and absence of premaxilla teeth on the upper jaw, and their aforementioned geographical distribution.

Green tree pythons are found in Papua New Guinea, on some of the nearby islands and in northeastern Australia. Emerald tree boas inhabit the jungles of South America. Considering this enormous geographical separation, what is the relationship or the common origin of the two species, living on opposite sides of the globe?

Similarities
Before addressing this question, we first must look at some of the features that make these two species so similar yet so distinctive. Both green tree pythons and emerald tree boas are probably themost arboreal of all the Boids (Boidae is a family comprising pythons and boas), and have a particular way of resting in the branches of trees.

They loop a coil or two over the branches in a saddle position and place their head in the middle. This habit, along with their appearance, is the primary cause of confusion between the two species when seen outside their natural habitat. Living in the rainforest canopy presents many challenges and requires some special adaptations, such as a prehensile Green tree python and Emerald tree boa tail and the ability to find and secure food in three dimensions.

Being nocturnal, their eyes are adapted for night vision, but both species also have well developed thermoreceptors to detect warm-blooded prey over some distance. In Green tree pythons, these receptors, called labial pits, are positioned on each side of the bottom jaw on such an angle that the snake is able to pinpoint the location of the prey. Emerald tree boas have the pits on their upper lips.