About the Green Tree Python Drawing
Since childhood, I have been fascinated by Green Tree Pythons (Morelia viridis) and Emerald Tree Boas (Corallus caninus). Although they evolved in different snake lineages and inhabit opposite hemispheres, both developed a remarkably similar arboreal form and behavior: green adult coloration, broad heads, prehensile tails, and the characteristic posture of looping their bodies over branches. They remain one of my favorite examples of convergent evolution – different evolutionary histories producing similar solutions to life in the forest canopy.
The snake portrayed in Aru Emerald was a captive-bred Green Tree Python descended from animals originating on Aru Island, Indonesia. I kept him in my office for several years. He was a beautiful and generally gentle snake, although I still had to be careful when reaching toward him because an approaching hand could occasionally be mistaken for a mouse.
Green Tree Pythons undergo one of the most striking color changes found among snakes. Juveniles may be brilliant yellow or red, as shown in Canopy Gold, before developing the green coloration associated with many adults. In Aru Emerald, I wanted to portray the result of that transformation: vivid green scales, a golden eye, and the quiet alertness of an adult arboreal predator.
The close composition and dark background place attention on the eye, head, intricate scales, and heat-sensitive labial pits along the lips. These pits allow the snake to sense infrared radiation emitted by endothermic prey such as birds and mammals, helping it locate and accurately strike prey even in low light. The snake appears calm but fully aware, reflecting both the beauty of the animal and the focused watchfulness I remember from having him nearby in my office.
Aru Emerald is a colored pencil Green Tree Python drawing by Michael E. Dorcas for Tantilla Art.