Barred grass snake
| Barred grass snake | |
|---|---|
_playing_dead_(14178349634).jpg) | |
| Barred grass snake in southern France, playing dead | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Natrix |
| Species: | N. helvetica |
| Binomial name | |
| Natrix helvetica (Lacépède, 1789) | |
The barred grass snake (Natrix helvetica) is a non-venomous colubrid snake from Western Europe, living in and close to water. It was included within the grass snake species, Natrix natrix, until August 2017, when genetic analysis suggested that it was better treated as a separate species.[1] The recently identified species has distinct banding along its flanks for the entire length of its body and it lacks the bright yellow collar of the similar Natrix natrix. The body colour is grey rather than the olive green of Natrix natrix. The species is found in southern England, Switzerland, Italy, France and western Germany. The snake, which eats amphibians like newts and frogs, can grow to a length of one metre.[2]
Five subspecies of Natrix natrix were transferred to Natrix helvetica:[1]
- N. helvetica helvetica (syn. N. natrix helvetica)
- N. helvetica cetti (syn. N. natrix cetti)
- N. helvetica corsa (syn. N. natrix corsa)
- N. helvetica lanzai (syn. N. natrix lanzai)
- N. helvetica sicula (syn. N. natrix sicula)
References
- 1 2 Kindler, Carolin; Chèvre, Maxime; Ursenbacher, Sylvain; Böhme, Wolfgang; Hille, Axel; Jablonski, Daniel; Vamberger, Melita & Fritz, Uwe (2017), "Hybridization patterns in two contact zones of grass snakes reveal a new Central European snake species", Scientific Reports, 7 (7378), doi:10.1038/s41598-017-07847-9
- ↑ "New grass snake identified in the UK". BBC News. 2017-08-07. Retrieved 2017-08-09.