Available as FineArt print. Contact me at guenter@leitenbauer.net
The Ball python (Python regius), also known as the Royal python, is a ground dwelling, nonvenomous snake native to the savannahs and rain forests of western and central Africa, ball pythons can be found from Senegal, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia on the west coast, east to southwestern Sudan and northwestern Uganda.
Tens of thousands of ball pythons are annually imported into the U.S., mostly originating from Togo, Benin, and Ghana. The name ball derives from the animal's tendency, when stressed or frightened, to curl into a tight "ball" with its head hidden inside, often for long periods of time. The name royal (from the regius in the Latin name) comes, in part, from Cleopatra, who supposedly wore the snake around her wrist.
The ball python is typically light brown-green or black in color, with a tan-yellow underbelly. However, ball pythons come in many morphs, which are genetic mutations that alter the colors and patterns of the scales. Adults range in length from 1 to over 2 meters, with the average female reaching 1 to 1.5 m and the average male, 60 to 90 cm. A mature female will commonly grow distinctly larger than the male.
BTW: In Greek mythology Python was the earth-dragon of Delphi, always represented in the vase-paintings and by sculptors as a serpent. Pytho was the chthonic enemy of Apollo, who slew her and remade her former home his own oracle, the most famous in Classical Greece.
[Wikipedia]
Taken in a terrarium in Upper Austria in July 2007
Canon 5D with Sigma 105/2.8
1/80s f/4.5 ISO 1600
View it large, please!
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