Green tree python
Scientific name: Morelia viridis (Schlegel, 1872)
Overview
The green tree python, is a species of snake in the 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 of 2 m (6.6 ft) and a weight of 1.6 kg (3.5 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.
From the Wikipedia article “Green tree python”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Least concern on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Where it lives
The Catalogue of Life records it in: Indonesia (Aru I, Irian Jaya), Papua New Guinea, Island of Gag, Australia (NE Cape York Peninsula of Queensland).
Common names
Also known in English as Green Python, Southern green python.
Names in other languages (9)
- Arabic
- أصلة الشجر الخضراء
- Chinese
- 綠樹蟒
- French
- Python vert
- German
- Grüner Baumpython
- Indonesian
- Sanca hijau
- Japanese
- ミドリニシキヘビ
- Persian
- پایتون سبز درختی
- Portuguese
- Pitão-verde-arborícola
- Russian
- Зелёный питон
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names and range.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: The Reptile Database.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q849394, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Green tree python”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Range map — New-Guinea-Python.gif: Jens Raschendorf derivative work: B kimmel (talk), CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026