Smooth snakes
| Smooth snakes | ||||||||||||
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Smooth snake ( Coronella austriaca ) |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Coronella | ||||||||||||
| Laurenti , 1768 |
Smooth or smooth snakes ( Coronella ) include three types, two of which occur in Europe. Even if they hiss in danger, can go over to fake attacks and bite when grasped, they are harmless snakes. Smooth snakes or smooth snakes inhabit dry, stony and well-sunlit biotopes, prefer to feed on lizards and rarely grow longer than 80 centimeters.
features
Features of this genus are the small head, slightly separated from the neck, round pupils and the smooth, shiny body scales that give it its name. An important distinguishing feature from the otters are the large, smooth scales.
behavior
These animals show activity both during the day and at night. Often they specialize in their diet on lizards, which are killed by being entangled and strangled. In case of danger, they flatten their heads, which makes them appear larger, and they make sibilants. It is also not uncommon for bogus attacks to be carried out.
Systematics
The following three recent species belong to the genus of smooth snakes :
| German name | Scientific name | distribution | Hazard level Red List of IUCN |
Remarks | image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smooth or smooth snake |
Coronella austriaca Laurenti , 1768 |
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 ( Least Concern - not at risk)
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3 subspecies: C. a. austriaca , C. a. acutirostris , C. a. fitzingeri * Widespread in Finland , southern Norway , Sweden , Belgium , the Netherlands , Luxembourg , Germany , Austria , Switzerland , southern Great Britain , northern Spain , northern Portugal , France , Italy , Poland , the Czech Republic , Hungary , Slovakia , Croatia , Slovenia , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Montenegro , Macedonia , Serbia , Romania , Bulgaria , Greece (including Samothraki ), Albania , Turkey , Russia , Estonia , Latvia , Lithuania , Belarus , Ukraine , Moldova , Armenia , Georgia , Azerbaijan , western Kazakhstan , northern Anatolia , northern Iran |
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| Indian smooth snake |
Coronella brachyura ( Günther , 1866) |
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( Least Concern - not at risk)
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monotypically widespread in India (northern Maharashtra ) |
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| Girondin smooth snake |
Coronella girondica ( Daudin , 1803) |
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( Least Concern - not at risk)
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2 subspecies: C. g. girondica , C. g. amaliae * Widespread in Spain, Portugal, southern France, Italy, Morocco , Algeria , Tunisia |
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(* disputed)
Individual evidence
- ^ Coronella in The Reptile Database ; Retrieved January 22, 2011.
- ^ Coronella austriaca in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2016.3. Posted by: Jelka Crnobrnja Isailovic, Rastko Ajtic, Milan Vogrin, Claudia Corti, Valentin Pérez Mellado, Paulo Sá-Sousa, Marc Cheylan, Juan Pleguezuelos, Alexander Westerström, Cornelius C. De Haan, Varol Tok, Bartosz Borczyk, Bogoljub Sterijovski, Benedikt Schmidt, 2009. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
- ^ Coronella brachyura in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.3. Posted by: Srinivasulu, C., Srinivasulu, B., Vyas, R. & Mohapatra, P., 2010. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
- ^ Coronella girondica in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.3. Posted by: Sá-Sousa, P., Pérez Mellado, V., Corti, C., Sindaco, R., Romano, A. & Martinez Solano, I., 2008. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
literature
- G. Kreiner: Snakes of Europe - All species west of the Caucasus . Edition Chimaira, 2007, ISBN 978-3-89973-457-7
