Vammo by night in April...

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Vammo by night in April...

Postby Berislav Horvatic » Sat Apr 18, 2015 5:48 pm

For all those that still hesitate to believe in the allegedly disputed (?!) night activity of
Vipera ammodytes, even when the days are not really hot, here's a fresh photo from a
day (or, rather, NIGHT!) ago:

IMG_9815 - Copy (2).JPG

By the way, LTOT = 89.5 cm!!!!

I expect the lucky finder to explain the rest himself, when he
relaxes from the fieldtrip...
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Re: Vammo by night in April...

Postby miguel santos » Sun Apr 19, 2015 10:31 am

I gess he will take some time to relax after such a find. What an impressive snake. Would it be a male?
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Re: Vammo by night in April...

Postby Niklas Ban » Sun Apr 19, 2015 6:30 pm

Nice one! Do you know the temperatures in this night?
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Re: Vammo by night in April...

Postby Berislav Horvatic » Sun Apr 19, 2015 7:04 pm

Miguel Santos wrote:I gess he will take some time to relax after such a find. What an impressive snake. Would it be a male?

He (Mladen Zadravec) sent me a short e-mail message today. Of course he will explain everything himself, in due time...
So far I know only that the viper was found in the continental (!) part of Croatia, but Mladen actually has to relax not
from this find, but from his subsequent trip to Modena, Italy, where he visited an entomological fair... Namely, the guy
has two major fascinations within biology, vipers and bugs. I've never understood that combination, but obviously one
has to accept that "perverse" combinations like that, in real life of real people, can occur...
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Re: Vammo by night in April...

Postby Andre Schmid » Mon Apr 20, 2015 4:38 am

:lol:
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Re: Vammo by night in April...

Postby Berislav Horvatic » Mon Apr 20, 2015 3:14 pm

Michael Glass wrote:... searching and photographing butterflies and herpetofauna is not mutually exclusive,
but, a perfect combination regarding the time of the day and the conditions.

Well, that's how Mladen found this nocturnal beastie... They were checking the moth traps ("pyramids"),
by night, of course, looking for some other nocturnal bugs en passant... Then they heard a recognizable
hissing in the dark... No gloves, no hook - they were after bugs, after all! - so, run to the car, run back,
it's still hissing, it's a huge one, but has in the meantime retreated into a thick (and thorny!) rosebush.
So Mladen had no other choice but to spill some of his own blood and get it. And thanks to that we now
have the biggest (reliably measured!) ammodytes in Croatia (at least), and a nocturnal one at that - in
April, in continental climate! I don't know the exact temperature (yet), Mladen only said that it was a
"not-so-warm" night... As the photo clearly shows, they were certainly not in short sleeves...

Some other fieldherpers use orchids (instead of butterflies & c.) for the same purpose - to do something
when there are no herps to be found around... To the best of my knowledge, so far orchids have never
produced an effect like this one... But never say never, wait and see... hope...
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Re: Vammo by night in April...

Postby Berislav Horvatic » Mon Apr 20, 2015 10:41 pm

miguel santos wrote: What an impressive snake. Would it be a male?

LTOT: 89.5 cm
SVL: 79.0 cm
The tail length is 10.5 cm, that is, cca. 8.5 % of the total body length, so what would you (or anybody) guess from that?
Most probably nothing (if I may presume...), but, alternatively, have a look at this photo of the beast:

IMG_9799_SMALL.jpg

From the shape of the posterior part of the body I would say that it's a male - additionally supported by the "typical" colours...
Of course, "typical" only for the typical individuals in this particular region, so... let's rather wait for the lucky finder to have
his own say... He'll wake up sooner or later, no doubt about that...
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Re: Vammo by night in April...

Postby Mario Schweiger » Tue Apr 21, 2015 8:00 am

Berislav Horvatic wrote:
miguel santos wrote: What an impressive snake. Would it be a male?

LTOT: 89.5 cm
SVL: 79.0 cm
The tail length is 10.5 cm, that is, cca. 8.5 % of the total body length, so what would you (or anybody) guess from that?


one must not care so much for the ratio body lenght/tail length. The ratio differs much from population to population.On this particular specimen yo have to look on the colors/contrast only, to see the sex.
But in any case, you may see the sex from the shape of the tail. This works even in newborns ;)
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Re: Vammo by night in April...

Postby Berislav Horvatic » Tue Apr 21, 2015 9:58 am

Mario Schweiger wrote:One must not care so much for the ratio body lenght/tail length. The ratio differs much from population to population.

That just confirms what I said: "... so what would you (or anybody) guess from that? Most probably nothing (if I may presume...),..."
Thank you, teacher.

Mario Schweiger wrote: On this particular specimen you have to look on the colors/contrast only, to see the sex.
But in any case, you may see the sex from the shape of the tail. This works even in newborns ;)

OK, now we have all seen the colours, as well as the shape of the tail. So, it's a male, isn't it? Then why don't you
just say so explicitly? As your dedicated pupil/disciple, I'd still prefer to have the expert opinion/confirmation by
the master, instead of a smiley...
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Re: Vammo by night in April...

Postby Mario Schweiger » Tue Apr 21, 2015 10:51 am

Sorry, Bero :oops:
Yes, here now I say it explicit: it is a male for sure!
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