unidentified snake in northern velebit

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unidentified snake in northern velebit

Postby Robert Madl » Mon Jun 15, 2015 3:10 pm

In August 2014 I observed a brown snake, about 60 cm long. But the specimen fled quickly bevor I could identify the species (I’m not even sure if colubrid or viper). The location was Nacionali park Sjeverni Velebit (northern Velebit), Croatia, in an altitude of 1.500 m. The habitat was an alpine pasture with single lime rocks. In the same area I saw Iberolacerta horvathi and Turdus torquatus (alpine thrush). It was late afternoon on a sunny day.

Which snake species is considered? Has anyone a checklist of the snake species of Nacionali park Sjeverni Velebit?

I suppose it was Coronella austriaca. As far as I know Vipera u. macrops is not known from northern Velebit and - anyway - hardly seen in August afternoon sun. What about Vipera b. bosniensis? Does it occur there?

Thanks for your assessments! Robert
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Re: unidentified snake in northern velebit

Postby Berislav Horvatic » Mon Jun 15, 2015 4:28 pm

No Vipera ursinii and no Vipera berus there, only Vipera ammodytes. And no "serious" checklist for
the NP Northern Velebit as far as I know or can access, sorry.
"A brown snake, about 60 cm long" in that part of Velebit could be Coronella austriaca or Zamenis
longissimus
. And V. ammodytes as well, of course, if you saw so little of it as you say:
I’m not even sure if colubrid or viper".
So, you'll probably never know... Roger & over.

... Vipera u. macrops is not known from northern Velebit and - anyway - hardly seen in August afternoon sun.

Not known from the Northern Velebit, that's for sure. But regarding "hardly seen in August afternoon sun",
ask e.g. Bobby Bok... who found one at sunset, just like that - en passant... Elsewhere, of course, but still
in Croatia, and not so far from the Southeastern-most part of the Velebit range... Just in the right place.

4879035734_45d4b85cc7_z.jpg
4879035734_45d4b85cc7_z.jpg (71.49 KiB) Viewed 3012 times
Herpetological Eurotour 2010 14th of July - 7th of August 2010
http://www.hylawerkgroep.be/jeroen/index.php?id=52

And there are some more proofs regarding the "August afternoon sun", e.g., Christoph Riegler from Vienna,
having been made a most happy man at the very same site in a late summer afternoon on 29 July 2008:

Be_7138_RED.jpg

Just look at this face... (One of my most favourite photos... I just couldn't help posting it.)

BTW, this was the only occasion (in my experience) when two fieldherpers (Ivo Peranić and Christoph Riegler), searching
together, found two individuals of V. ursinii (each of them one, independently) at the same time, that is, quite literally
within a single second. I lagged some hundred meters behind them, and suddenly I heard two cries of joy and saw those
two guys both raising (something in) their hands... Guess what.
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