neither blue nor green pigment exists in the reptile world. these colours are actually produced by iridophores, tiny pigment cells which lie within the dermis and contain crystalline chemochromes made from guanine. when struck by the light, particularly the short blue wavelength, these iridophores act as filters, colouring the animal bright blue. when combined with a layer of yellow carotenoids, bright green colouration occurs instead.
pictured: white-lipped pit viper, green tree python, common treesnake,
puget sound garter snake, cave racer, baron’s racer.
in evolutionary biology, convergent evolution is the process whereby two animals that are not closely related independently evolve to have similar or identical traits as a result of needing to adapt to similar ecological niches.
top row
green vine snake (oxybeltis fulgidus): endemic to south america (belize, bolivia, brazil, costa rica, ecuador, french guiana, mexico, panama, suriname), feeds on small lizards, 6 feet
asian vine snake (ahaetulla prasina): endemic to asia (bangladesh, bhutan, burma, cambodia, china, india, singapore, thailand, vietnam), feeds on small reptiles and tree frogs, 6 feet
second row
emerald tree boa (corallus caninus): endemic to south america (colombia, brazil, venezuela, suriname), feeds on small mammals, lizards and frogs, 6 feet, hatchlings are orange or red
green tree python (morelia virdidis): endemic to australia (+ new guinea, indonesia), feeds on small mammals and lizards, 6 feet, hatchlings are red or yellow
third row
beaked sea snake (enhydrina
schistosa): endemic to oceans surrounding india and indian islands (arabian sea), feeds on fish, deep notch in the jaws creating the “beaked” snout, feeds on spiny catfish and puffer fishes, more aggressive disposition
zweifel’s beaked snake (enhydrina zweifeli): endemic to the oceans surrounding australia and new guinea (timor sea, sepik river), deep notch in the jaws creating the “beaked” snout, feeds on spiny catfish and puffer fishes, more aggressive disposition. dna testing shows that it is not related to the beaked sea snake.
fourth row
colombian rainbow boa (epicrates maurus): endemic to south america, feeds on small mammals and birds, 3 feet, terrestrial but often climbs,
hatchlings are spotted but markings fade with age
children’s python (antaresia childreni): endemic to australia, feeds on small mammals and birds, 3 feet, terrestrial but often climbs, hatchlings are spotted but markings fade with age
We are William Afton stans first and humans second 