The rarest reptile in Finland
Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2009 12:17 am
Let me introduce you my ultimate highlight of the year 2009.
The 27th of June I was lucky to find something very few people have ever seen: a Finnish Coronella austriaca!
In Finland the smooth snake is known to exist only on the islands of Åland, between Finland and Sweden. The only thing known about the species on the island is that they do exist, but in very low numbers. One can spend months or years on the island and see hundreds of adders and grass snakes without seeing a single Coronella austriaca.
This summer I spent one and a half months in Åland doing (non-herp-related) biological fieldwork, and of course I inspected every promising-looking Coronella-habitat always when I got a chance. One day I suddenly saw this beautiful snake in front of my eyes.
After I found this snake I visited the same site many times in hope of finding the same or another individual, but with no luck.
The 27th of June I was lucky to find something very few people have ever seen: a Finnish Coronella austriaca!
In Finland the smooth snake is known to exist only on the islands of Åland, between Finland and Sweden. The only thing known about the species on the island is that they do exist, but in very low numbers. One can spend months or years on the island and see hundreds of adders and grass snakes without seeing a single Coronella austriaca.
This summer I spent one and a half months in Åland doing (non-herp-related) biological fieldwork, and of course I inspected every promising-looking Coronella-habitat always when I got a chance. One day I suddenly saw this beautiful snake in front of my eyes.
After I found this snake I visited the same site many times in hope of finding the same or another individual, but with no luck.