European Ratsnake

European Ratsnake
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Zamenis
Species: Z. situla
Binomial name
Zamenis situla
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms

Coluber situla Linnaeus, 1758
Coluber leopardinus Bonaparte, 1834
Callopeltis leopardinus Bonaparte, 1839
Natrix leopardina Cope, 1862
Coronella quadrilineata Jan, 1863
Coluber leopardinus Boulenger, 1894
Elaphe situla Engelmann et al., 1993
Zamenis situla Venchi & Sindaco, 2006[1][2]

The European Ratsnake or Leopard Snake (Zamenis situla) is a species of snake in the Colubridae family.

Contents

Geographic range

It is found in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, the Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey, Ukraine, and possibly Cyprus.

Description

It is gray or tan with a dorsal series of reddish or brown transverse blotches, which have black borders. On each side is a series of smaller black spots, alternating with the dorsal blotches. There is a Y-shaped dark marking on the occiput and nape, a crescent-shaped black band from eye to eye across the prefrontals, and a black band from the postoculars diagonally to the corner of the mouth. The belly is white, checkered with black, or almost entirely back. The dorsal scales are in 25 or 27 rows, and are smooth. Adults may attain 90 cm (35½ inches) in total length, with a tail of 16 cm (6¼ inches).[3]

Habitat

Its natural habitats are Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, pastureland, plantations, and rural gardens.

References

  1. ^ Boulenger, G.A. 1894. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume II. London.
  2. ^ www.reptile-database.reptarium.cz
  3. ^ Boulenger, G.A. 1894. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History), Volume II. London.