Some pictures from the Cres-Lošinj archipelago

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Some pictures from the Cres-Lošinj archipelago

Postby Ruggero M. » Wed Jun 11, 2014 6:51 pm

Having too many pictures on the PC is sometimes just as puzzling as having too few ones: from where can I begin? What can I tell, which is not already told somewhere else? Which pictures are the most interesting and which are the most boring and usual?

I will try now to do my best to put here something hopefully not so boring, avoiding anyway to reveal "hot spots" or to give too detailed informations about places.

Which is the rarest snake on these islands? Natrix natrix is actually seldom met, but if you know where these snakes can find frogs, you are probably towards the right solution of the enigma. Small water ponds in otherwise very dry areas are often more than enough for this species.

natrix.jpg
In situ

natrix1.jpg

natrix big.jpg

natrix2.jpg
After capture. Its belly was almost totally black (not photographed, unfortunately)

natrix habitat.jpg
Water pond in dry habitat

natrix6.jpg
Natrix found inside the pond of the picture above

natrix7.jpg
Same snake as above

natrix3.jpg
In the north of Cres the habitat is less dry, and you can find bigger ponds

natrix5.jpg
Detail (but you can see the snake even in the picture above!)
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Re: Some pictures from the Cres-Lošinj archipelago

Postby Ruggero M. » Wed Jun 11, 2014 7:06 pm

Which is the commonest lizard on these island?

Melisellensis, obviously, but you can find muralis in some spots, in the north, and even in towns, such as in Cres center town.

muralis guardinga.jpg

muralis3.jpg

muralis village.jpg
P.muralis in the woods of the northern part of the island of Cres

muralis1.jpg
P.muralis in Cres town center

muralis2.jpg
A wall in another town of the island of Cres.

muralis melisellensis.jpg
P.melisellensis: same wall as above, same moment, only 1 meter away!

melisello.jpg
Another specimen

melisellensis.jpg
Melisellensis is, without doubts, the commonest lizard of the islands

melisellensis2.jpg

melisellensis paarung.jpg
Another pair (this time mating!)

lacerta1.jpg
Lacerta bilineata female
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Re: Some pictures from the Cres-Lošinj archipelago

Postby Ruggero M. » Wed Jun 11, 2014 7:16 pm

Road traffic is the greatest problem for reptiles in Cres, but ticks are neither so kind with them...

This L.bilineata suffers probably from both the problems.
ramarro zecche.jpg


Ticks can also infest snakes.

malpolon zecche.jpg
Malpolon male with ticks

zecche dettaglio.jpg
Detail of the ticks
zecche dettaglio.jpg (160.38 KiB) Viewed 18186 times

fangs.jpg
Detail of the fangs
Ruggero M.
 
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Re: Some pictures from the Cres-Lošinj archipelago

Postby Ruggero M. » Wed Jun 11, 2014 7:37 pm

In Cres you can find different species of praying mantis.

mantis.jpg

empusa1.jpg

empusa2.jpg


And, very seldom, Testudo. We found this baby under a metal sheet in a remote area of the north, and it was the only Testudo we found there.

testudo1.jpg

testudo2.jpg

metal sheets.jpg
The metal sheets under which the baby testudo was found


Abandoned villages in the north are a very interesting and particular type of reptile habitat.
abandoned.jpg

abandoned2.jpg


Dark or black aesculapian snakes, which are found on those type of habitats, are probably mistaken for H.viridiflavus by some laymen.
aeskulap.jpg

aeskulap near.jpg

longi.jpg
Normally coloured aesculapian snakes cannot be mistaken, hopefully, for nothing else...


You can find there the slow worm.
anguis.jpg
Anguis fragilis found under a metal sheet


And the smooth snake Coronella austriaca.
austriaca.jpg

austriaca3.jpg

austriaca1.jpg

austriaca2.jpg
Ruggero M.
 
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Re: Some pictures from the Cres-Lošinj archipelago

Postby Ruggero M. » Wed Jun 11, 2014 7:55 pm

One of the rarest sightings in Cres is the Telescopus fallax, but this is probably caused by its strictly nocturnal behaviour.

We found this specimen resting on a road, during a very humid (and rather cool) night of May.

tele1.jpg

tele2.jpg

telescopone.jpg


Besides the cat snake, another occasionally nocturnal species is the leopard snake, which is also probably much more common than the cat snake on these islands.
The striped variant is here missing, but some specimens, particularly the younger snakes, tend to show a yellowish brilliant background color, which I almost never saw, for instance, in greek specimens.

The following 3 pictures were taken by my friend Rica Kempter.
situla baby.jpg
This beautiful "yellow" situla baby was killed by a car just in front of us

situla female.jpg
Beautifully colored (and very big) situla female "in situ": it was just at the edge of a trafficked road

situla female2.jpg
Detail

gemo1.jpg
Same place, next year: unfortunately only a gemonensis...

gemo2.jpg
Detail
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Re: Some pictures from the Cres-Lošinj archipelago

Postby Ruggero M. » Wed Jun 11, 2014 8:14 pm

Other beautiful "yellowish" leopard snakes

night1.jpg
Wonderful baby specimen saved from a trafficked road at night

night2.jpg
Same specimen

night3.jpg
Same specimen: the real colours were actually fantastic!



Another specimen (a little bigger, beautiful, but not fantastic as the specimen shown above)
night big.jpg


When you find a snake on the road during the day, you will normally see "something dark" on the road; the strange thing with leopard snakes, found during the night on the roads, is that you will notice at first, in these cases, something "pale and whitish" on the road: you must be prepared for this! ;)

dor situla.jpg
Good picture, but... it's a DOR situla, positioned for a picture at the edge of the road!


A rather brightly coloured specimen, found trying to cross a main road early in the morning
yellow1.jpg

released.jpg
Same specimen released in a safe position, far from the main road


Not all the babies are yellow and brilliant in their colours. The baby of the picture below was crossing a trafficked road during the day: we saved it from the cars that were behind us.

normal grey.jpg
Z.situla baby found on a road in Cres: its background colour is a rather normal grey

place.jpg
The exact place of its "crossing"
Ruggero M.
 
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Re: Some pictures from the Cres-Lošinj archipelago

Postby Ruggero M. » Wed Jun 11, 2014 8:34 pm

Another young specimen
grey baby.jpg
A dull grey baby found in Cres island at the edge of a road

As you can see, baby is not equivalent of bright and yellow!

Now some bigger specimens of Z.situla

big leopard0.jpg
Male found at the edge of a road in Cres island during a cloudy day


Male found in Losinj island partially inside a stone wall

big leopard1.jpg

big leopard2.jpg
Habitat of the specimen shown above


Specimen found in Cres island by the team of Boris Laus and shown to us for a photo
boris laus.jpg
A dull female (if I remember well)

dull.jpg
Very dull and greyish specimen

big female.jpg
Losinj island: very big and beautiful female "in situ"

leo night.jpg
Male situla found in the evening in the south of Cres island on a main road

same animal.jpg
Same snake

releasing.jpg
Released at a safe distance from the road


Obviously herpers cannot be everywhere at the same time... :(

This male was found agonizing on the road, freshly hit by a car, a night of June of the last year...
agonizing.jpg


While for this unfortunate big female, we arrived, this year, hours later...
dead.jpg
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Re: Some pictures from the Cres-Lošinj archipelago

Postby Ruggero M. » Wed Jun 11, 2014 8:56 pm

Which is the commonest snake species in the archipelago?
gemonensis in situ.jpg
H.gemonensis "in situ"


Obviously: it's even boring common!

In Losinj the situation is the same.
Here we have male and female, captured when they were rather near each other, but not during mating!
gemonensis pair.jpg
Male on the left

gemonensis cloaca.jpg
Sexual distinction: male below


And what is this? A gemonensis as the snake in the first picture? Maybe not...
malpolon male.jpg
Malpolon males have very good mimetic properties on some substrates


This is a "real" gemo, in situ
gemo habitat.jpg
Cres island

gemo habitat2.jpg
Cres island



Another specimen, in situ
gemo big0.jpg
Losinj island

gemo big.jpg
Losinj island


Brownish specimen, in situ, Cres island
brown1.jpg

brown2.jpg
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Re: Some pictures from the Cres-Lošinj archipelago

Postby Ruggero M. » Wed Jun 11, 2014 9:19 pm

Last but not least: the Elaphe quatuorlineata

The most beautiful specimen I've seen in my life was the specimen shown below. A male: big and yellowish. After capture it began to inflate its body laterally and to hiss like the asiatic snake Coelognatus radiatus

cervone in situ.jpg
Big yellow male "in situ". Cres island

head detail.jpg



Another "in situ" specimen. Different habitat, Cres island

in situ1.jpg

in situ2.jpg



While abandoned villages in the north of Cres are the habitat of Z.longissimus, the abandoned villages in the north of Losinj are home for the E.quatuorlineata
dorf.jpg

quatuorlineata found.jpg
Found in the village of the picture above


Baby found on a road in Cres island
baby.jpg
Baby "in situ", resting on the road

not happy.jpg
Not happy to be saved


Cres island: big specimen "in situ"... with a herper ready to catch it!
herper.jpg
Big specimen, "probably" met for two consecutive years around the same place

good camouflage.jpg
The snake has good camouflage between rocks and dead leaves

female1.jpg
More than 150 cm? I think so!

herper1.jpg
This is a big female, found the year before, which I suppose to be the same snake shown above


Sometimes, but rather rarely in my opinion, one can find specimens among tree branches
bush.jpg
Cres island: "in situ" picture


More commonly you can find specimens basking on low bushes
low.jpg
Cres island: "in situ" picture


courtship.jpg
Probable courtship at the edge of a trafficked road on Cres island

in situ quatuor.jpg
Big, recently fed specimen, "in situ". Cres island


Other specimens, "in manu", just to show some colour differences
in manu1.jpg
Adult

in manu2.jpg
Another adult

cervo.jpg
A third specimen

subadult.jpg
A subadult

big quat.jpg
A big specimen, found crossing a main road

younger.jpg
A younger specimen
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Re: Some pictures from the Cres-Lošinj archipelago

Postby Ruggero M. » Wed Jun 11, 2014 10:08 pm

I've also many pictures of Pseudopus, of Malpolon (some pictures can be seen here: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=1912), of Lacerta bilineata and others.

But for the moment I will end my "slide show" with a beautiful view from Mount Osor, in Losinj island. In the hope that these island will remain intact for as long as possible!

Losinj.jpg


If you have questions, please, I will be glad to be helpful!
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