Python Curtus was the scientific name proposed for a python with a short tail from Sumatra. They’re now known as the Sumatran short-tailed python.
Even though they are not as brightly colored as this book plate implies, they are sadly threatened by humans – as many as 100,000 a year are harvested for leather. They’re also hunted for the pet trade.
The patterning on this snake drawing matches that of the photos I found. But, the colors are much duller in real life. None are as strikingly beautiful as this drawing from the Proceedings of the Scientific Meetings of the Zoological Society of London for the year 1889.
The python curtus drawing is larger than what you see below. Just click on the image shown here to access the largest version we have.
This image is copyright free and in the public domain anywhere that extends copyrights 70 years after death or at least 120 years after publication when the original illustrator is unknown.
