Jayapura

Like Sorong’s, they also small chondros and commonly develop a blue dorsal stripe and markings; however, the pastel-blue dorsal markings and olive-green body give these serpents a distinctly prehistoric aura. ^[2]

Jayapura Green Tree Pythons can present themselves in a wide variety of phenotypic expressions common to northern mainland Morelia Azureus. They can be yellow or red as neonates and are largely collected as yellow. ^[3]

Yellow neonate adults can often be recognized by a solid or nearly solid blue dorsal stripe with blue markings extending out from the dorsal to the lateral portions of the body. In many cases, the dorsal stripe and lateral markings will be thinner and more pointed than that of other northern mainland green tree pythons, like the Manokwari and Sorong from the Vogelkop Peninsula. ^[4]

The red neonate adults will typically settle to a darker shade of green than the lighter olive green of the yellows. Red neonates can vary in the presentation of blue, anywhere from virtually none to almost solid blue like the sire of the “New Blue” locality cross originally produced at Terraria Indonesia. More commonly, the blue will present as an outline of the neonate dorsal markings and as a light blue undertone most easily recognized between the scales. Both red and yellow neonates can exhibit varying degrees of melanism, although this is not very common and mostly a product of captive breeding. Both red and yellow neonates will almost certainly display varying amounts of white scales. They usually appear individually and are somewhat sporadically located throughout the body. They can be found in groups or clusters, but more often are isolated anywhere throughout the dorsal and lateral regions. White scales can vary from just a few to dozens. ^[5]

When bred in captivity, they can begin their ontogenetic color change (OCC) as early as 3 months and as late as 2 years or more! Yellow neonates can rapidly turn dark green, sometimes referred to as digital, while others may remain solid yellow well past a year and turn green in just a couple days! Others may slowly and steadily change over the course of 1-2 years until they finally settle into their adult coloration. Red neonates seem to be a bit more predictable in regard to the timeline of their OCC, which is typically between 6 and 18 months of age. Most red neonates will be born bright red with white dorsal markings, while some may have a very slight shade of yellow to them. Red neonates can go anywhere from nearly solid black through the body to a very light, almost yellow color prior to entering the final stage of OCC where the body turns green. ^[6]

In the wild, both red and yellow neonates typically have little to no black in the tails and have a medium bluntness tail. Captive born Jayapuras often have a considerable amount of black in the tail that dissipates with age. ^[7]