Four-lined snake

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Four-lined snake
E quatuorlineata.jpg

Four-striped snake ( Elaphe quatuorlineata )

Systematics
Subordination : Snakes (serpentes)
Superfamily : Adder-like and viper-like (Colubroidea)
Family : Adders (Colubridae)
Subfamily : True snakes (Colubrinae)
Genre : Elaphe
Type : Four-lined snake
Scientific name
Elaphe quatuorlineata
( Lacépède , 1789)

The four-lined snake ( Elaphe quatuorlineata ) is a snake of the family of snakes .

description

This large and powerful adder reaches a length of up to 2.40 meters. The body is compressed, higher in cross section than it is wide. Young specimens look different from the adult animals, they are drawn on a gray base color with dark spots of different shapes and sizes. In the course of growth, the gray color gradually turns brown, and instead of the pattern of spots, two dark longitudinal stripes form on each side of the body. In the eastern four- lined snake ( Elaphe sauromates ), which was previously regarded as a subspecies, the spot markings are not reduced.

The four-lined snake is always lighter on the sides than on the back. Only a black stripe from the eye to the corner of the mouth remains of the youthful coloring.

Occurrence

Distribution area according to IUCN

She inhabits Italy from Tuscany and Umbria to the south to Sicily and large parts of Southeast Europe via Turkey and Ukraine to western Kazakhstan, northern Iraq and Syria.

The four-lined snake prefers stony terrain with bushes or sparse forests. She climbs well and often climbs bushes and trees. There she gathers bird nests, but squirrels also fall prey to her. Otherwise, especially at dusk, it preyed on mice, rats, moles, ermines and wild rabbits, which after the bite are embraced and strangled in a flash.

When mating, the male holds the female with its teeth. The 6 to 16 eggs are laid in July. The young adders appear in September and initially feed mainly on lizards.

Subspecies

  • E. q. muenteri ( Bedriaga , 1882) - Greece ( Cyclades )
  • E. q. parensis Cattaneo, 1999 - Greece ( Paros )
  • E. q. quatuorlineata ( Lacépède , 1789)
  • E. q. scyrensis Cattaneo, 1999 - Greece ( Skyros )

protection

The four-lined snake is listed by the European Union in Annexes II and IV of the Habitats Directive and is therefore a species of community interest to be strictly protected, for whose preservation special protected areas must be designated by the member states.

literature

  • Heinz Schröder: amphibians and reptiles in colors . Otto Maier Verlag, Ravensburg 1973. ISBN 3-473-46116-4

Web links

Commons : Vierstreifennatter  - Album with pictures, videos and audio files