Sumatran short-tailed python: Difference between revisions

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The '''Sumatran short-tailed python'''<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021"/> ('''''Python curtus'''''), also called the '''Sumatra python''',<ref>{{NRDB species|genus=Python|species=curtus|date=11 September|year=2007}}</ref> is a [[species]] of the family [[Pythonidae]], a nonvenomous snake native to [[Sumatra]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" />

==Taxonomy==

[[File:Python curtus.jpg|thumb|A Sumatran short-tailed python]]

''Python curtus'' was the [[scientific name]] proposed by [[Hermann Schlegel]] in 1872 for a python with a short tail from Sumatra.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schlegel |first1=H. |year=1872 |title=De Diergaarde van het Koninklijk Zoölogisch Genootschap Natura Artis Magistra te Amsterdam: De Kruipende Dieren |editor1-last=Witkamp |editor1-first=P. H. |___location=Amsterdam |publisher=Van Es |pages=53–54 |chapter=De Pythons |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/dedierentuinvanh00schl/page/54}}</ref> The [[Type locality (biology)|type locality]] is Sumatra.<ref name="McD99">McDiarmid, R. W., Campbell, J. A., Touré, T. 1999. Snake Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference, vol. 1. Herpetologists' League. 511 pp. {{ISBN|1-893777-00-6}} (series). {{ISBN|1-893777-01-4}} (volume).</ref>

''[[Python brongersmai]]'' and ''[[Python breitensteini|P. breitensteini]]'' were often considered the same species as ''P. curtus'' until confirmed distinct around 2000.

==Description==

[[File:PythonCurtusRooij.jpg|thumb|The arrangement of labial scales identify this illustration as ''[[Python brongersmai]]'']]

The Sumatran short-tailed python has narrow subocular [[Scale (anatomy)|scales]] between the bottom of the eye and the top of the labial scales. The parietal scales do not join each other. ''P. curtus'' and ''[[Python breitensteini|P. breitensteini]]'' can be distinguished by the frontal and parietal scales on the tops of their heads. In both ''[[Python brongersmai|P. brongersmai]]'' and ''P. breitensteini'', the parietal scales join.

Adults grow to {{convert|1.1|-|1.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} in length and are heavily built. The tail is extremely short relative to the overall length. The color pattern consists of a beige, tan, or grayish-brown ground color overlaid with blotches that are brick- to blood-redreddish in color.<ref name="Meh87">Mehrtens, J. M. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. {{ISBN|0-8069-6460-X}}.</ref>{{update inline |reason=The split of brongersmai and breitensteini from curtus was after this 1987 source, so the color pattern description (and possibly the length range description) here may suffer from a confusion of these species. It would be better to cite a source written by an author who is clearly aware of the split. |date=July 2025}}

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==Common names==

{{expert-subject|date=December 2012}}--><!-- after the split of brongersmai and breitensteini, some of the names apply to these.

'''Short python''', '''Blood python''' '''Short-tailed python''', '''Black blood python''', '''Sumatran short-tailed python''', '''Sumatran blood python'''. -->

==Distribution and habitat==

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It inhabits [[rainforest]]s, [[marsh]]es, swamps, and the vicinity of river banks and streams.<ref name="Meh87"/>

==Behaviour and ecology==

==Diet==

TheyThe feedSumatran onshort-tailed apython varietyfeeds ofon mammals and birds.<ref name="Meh87"/>

===Reproduction===

The Sumatran short-tailed python is [[Oviparousoviparous]], and females seldom lay more than a dozen large eggs,. though long term captive produced females readily can produce 25 to 40 viable eggs in a clutch.The female remains coiled around the eggs during the incubation period, and may shiver to produce heat. However, this action requires energy and the female will only do so if surrounding temperatures drop below {{cvt|90&nbsp;°|F}}. The hatchlings emerge after 2.5 to 3.0 months and are about {{convertcvt|30|cm|in|abbr=on}} in lengthlong.<ref name="Meh87"/>

==Uses==

The species is kept as an exotic pet. They are often regarded as unpredictable and aggressive, but captive-bred individuals, with proper husbandry and handling are excellent intermediate level reptiles that tend to be more docile than wild-caught specimens. These animals should only be kept by experienced reptile keepers, they are not a beginner species due to size and handling requirements.

The Sumatran short-tailed python has been extensively harvested for [[leather]]; an estimated 100,000 individuals are taken for this purpose each year. The commercial trade regards the various populations of ''P. curtus'' and ''P. brongersmai'' as a single species. Authors who elevate particular island populations to species status note that the skins are readily distinguished.<ref name="keogh">{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1095-8312.2001.tb01350.x|last1=Keogh|first1=J. Scott |last2=Barker|first2=David|last3=Shine|first3=Richard|year=2001|title=Heavily exploited but poorly known: systematics and biogeography of commercially harvested pythons (Python curtus group) in Southeast Asia (abstract)|pages=113|journal=Biological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=73 |issue=1 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

==References==

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{{Taxonbar|from=Q1344842}}

[[Category:Python (genus)|curtus]]

[[Category:Reptiles of Indonesia]]

[[Category:Reptiles described in 1872]]