Sumatran short-tailed python: Difference between revisions
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It inhabits [[rainforest]]s, [[marsh]]es, swamps, and the vicinity of river banks and streams.<ref name="Meh87"/> | It inhabits [[rainforest]]s, [[marsh]]es, swamps, and the vicinity of river banks and streams.<ref name="Meh87"/> | ||
== | ==Behaviour and ecology== | ||
The Sumatran short-tailed python feeds on mammals and birds.<ref name="Meh87"/> | |||
==Reproduction== | ===Reproduction=== | ||
[[ | The Sumatran short-tailed python is [[oviparous]], and females seldom lay more than a dozen large eggs. The female remains coiled around the eggs during the incubation period, and may shiver to produce heat if surrounding temperatures drop below {{cvt|90|F}}. The hatchlings emerge after 2.5 to 3.0 months and are about {{cvt|30|cm}} long.<ref name=Meh87/> | ||
==Uses== | ==Uses== | ||
The species is kept as an exotic pet. They are often regarded as unpredictable and aggressive, but captive-bred individuals tend to be more docile than wild-caught specimens. | 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> | 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== | ==References== | ||
Latest revision as of 17:22, 26 June 2025
Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Distinguish". Template:Speciesbox
The Sumatran short-tailed python (Python curtus) is a species of the family Pythonidae, a nonvenomous snake native to Sumatra.[1]
Taxonomy
Python curtus was the scientific name proposed by Hermann Schlegel in 1872 for a python with a short tail from Sumatra.[2] The type locality is Sumatra.[3]
Description
The Sumatran short-tailed python has narrow subocular 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 P. breitensteini can be distinguished by the frontal and parietal scales on the tops of their heads. In both P. brongersmai and P. breitensteini, the parietal scales join. Adults grow to Template:Convert 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-red in color.[4]
Distribution and habitat
The Sumatran short-tailed python occurs in Sumatra, Riau Archipelago, Lingga Islands, Bangka Islands, Mentawai Islands and Kalimantan.[1] It inhabits rainforests, marshes, swamps, and the vicinity of river banks and streams.[4]
Behaviour and ecology
The Sumatran short-tailed python feeds on mammals and birds.[4]
Reproduction
The Sumatran short-tailed python is oviparous, and females seldom lay more than a dozen large eggs. The female remains coiled around the eggs during the incubation period, and may shiver to produce heat if surrounding temperatures drop below Template:Cvt. The hatchlings emerge after 2.5 to 3.0 months and are about Template:Cvt long.[4]
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.[5]
References
External links
Template:Pythonidae Template:Taxonbar
- ↑ a b Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namediucn status 19 November 2021 - ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ 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. Template:ISBN (series). Template:ISBN (volume).
- ↑ a b c d Mehrtens, J. M. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. Template:ISBN.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".