Dendrelaphis punctulata
Encyclopedia
The common tree snake Dendrelaphis punctulata (also called green tree snake and Australian tree snake) is a slender, large-eyed, non-venomous, diurnal snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...

 of many parts of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, especially in the northern and eastern coastal areas, and into Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

. http://www.jcu.edu.au/discovernature/herpscommon/JCUDEV_009770.html, http://lamington.nrsm.uq.edu.au/Documents/Rept/greentreesnake.htm

This common snake is harmless, readily recognised as it is an agile snake with a very slender body and tail. The body colour varies from green to olive-green to black, frequently pale yellow on the throat and belly but other pale colours have been noted, blue flecks are present on the flank. Eyes are larger than in most snakes. Found in a variety of habitats ranging from rainforest to woodland to urban areas where it preys on fish, frogs and small animals.

Habitat

Common tree snakes live in a wide variety of habitats, including: bushland; well vegetated banks of rivers, creeks and streams; rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

 edges; eucalypt
Eucalypt
Eucalypts are woody plants belonging to three closely related genera:Eucalyptus, Corymbia and Angophora.In 1995 new evidence, largely genetic, indicated that some prominent Eucalyptus species were actually more closely related to Angophora than to the other eucalypts; they were split off into the...

 forests; heathland; and areas with trees, long grass, and lush vegetation—especially near water. http://thelocalbulletin.com/article.asp?a_id=2397, http://calamvalecreek.awardspace.com/tarzan.html When near water they often look for long grass in locations where they are likely to find prey, blending in with grasses while watching for prey to come to nearby rocks or banks to bask or play. They will also enter nearby house gardens that have fountains or ponds surrounded by long grass or shrubs. They are active during the day, and rest at night in hollow trees, logs, foliage, or rock crevices.

Diet

Frogs, water skinks, and small reptiles and their eggs form a large part of the common tree snake's diet, but it will also eat small fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...

, mammals, geckos
GeckOS
GeckOS is an experimental operating system for MOS 6502 and compatible processors. It offers some Unix-like functionality including preemptive multitasking, multithreading, semaphores, signals, binary relocation, TCP/IP networking via SLIP and a 6502 standard library.GeckOS includes native support...

, and turtle
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...

 hatchlings. http://wildlife-australia.com/green%20snake.htm, http://lamington.nrsm.uq.edu.au/Documents/Rept/greentreesnake.htm

Distribution

Dendrelaphis punctulata is common in Australia's northern tropics and eastern Australia. It is also found from the Kimberley region (Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

) to Cape York
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...

 and Torres Strait
Torres Strait
The Torres Strait is a body of water which lies between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is approximately wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, the northernmost continental extremity of the Australian state of Queensland...

 (Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...

), extending down the east coast into New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, and north into Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...

.http://www.fauna-rescue-qld.org.au/snakes.html, http://lamington.nrsm.uq.edu.au/Documents/Rept/greentreesnake.htm

Breeding

The common tree snake lays eggs — 5 to 12 elongated eggs per clutch. http://lamington.nrsm.uq.edu.au/Documents/Rept/greentreesnake.htm The young snakes shed their skin about every 6 to 8 weeks to accommodate growth, and adults shed their skin every year or two. All shed their skin if they are injured. When new skin forms, the snake secretes a milky fluid between the old and new layers of skin. After about two weeks, the snake rubs its snout against a branch or something rough, and the old skin peels back and turns inside out. http://calamvalecreek.awardspace.com/tarzan.html

Handling

Although common tree snakes are essentially harmless to humans, they will defend themselves by producing a horrible odour, and may bite. Sometimes when approached, the snake inflates its body and neck to make itself seem larger, a tactic sometimes used to scare prey. http://www.rhianna.id.au/Facts/green_tree_snake.html Generally, however, tree snakes in the wild will make a quick escape when they realize someone is watching them.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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