Z.longissimus male: pictures taken with cell phone

Z.longissimus male: pictures taken with cell phone

Postby Ruggero M. » Sun Aug 17, 2014 1:30 pm

This morning, around 11 A.M., I fortunately met a male Aeskulapian snake, hidden under a plastic shelter, not very far from my home: weather was rather cool, but the sun was pleasantly warm and the sky very clear. In the days before it has been raining.
25-30 years ago, finding an Aeskulapian snake in the hills of the province of Pavia was not so strange: it was always interesting and beautiful, but not necessarily an exceptional event.
Nowadays snakes are become very rare, mainly (and surely in my opinion) due to road traffic killing, and probably also for other reasons (introduction of many wild boars? direct killing by increased tourismus?).

The habitat was typical for Asculapian: wood at the edge of a small river, with some transictional vegetation and many open areas.

Here are the pictures (sorry, I had only my Nokia phone with me!)

paesaggio.jpg
The main habitat from distance

habitat dettaglio.jpg
The shelter

habitat1.jpg
The exact finding place (under the plastic cover, obviously)

saettone1.jpg
The snake: around 90-100 cm long male, with faint striping

saettone2.jpg
The same
Ruggero M.
 
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Re: Z.longissimus male: pictures taken with cell phone

Postby Ruggero M. » Sun Jun 05, 2016 8:00 pm

In the same place (very near) I've found in the afternoon a "big" and fat N.maura female and a beautiful small C.austriaca female. Both were under stones: the maura rolled up, and the austriaca not rolled up and a scorpio was under the same stone. I've been many times there and I've moved many times the same stones without success: but today weather and luck were by my side. It was warm and cloudy, just before a rain storm: a good time for snakes.
In the morning I saw a H.viridiflavus "en accordeon" in a wood not very far from my home: it was in shadow and the sky was cloudy. I've pictures of all these snakes and I'll post them with the Pc (now I write with smartphone). ;)
Ruggero M.
 
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Re: Z.longissimus male: pictures taken with cell phone

Postby Ruggero M. » Sun Jun 05, 2016 8:54 pm

Ok: the pictures were taken with my Samsung smartphone.
The N.maura, after some pictures, has simulated death, but only for very short periods (seconds): tessellata and N.natrix make often very long "death shows".
A "death show" was seen by myself also in Pseudopus (Cres) and in Varanus (Langkawi - Malaysia).

Now the very few pictures... :oops:
biacco 1.jpg
Viridiflavus "en accordeon" (in situ picture)

biacco 2.jpg
Detail
biacco 2.jpg (204.9 KiB) Viewed 5494 times
Ruggero M.
 
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Re: Z.longissimus male: pictures taken with cell phone

Postby Ruggero M. » Sun Jun 05, 2016 8:57 pm

maura.jpg

coronella.jpg

orbettino.jpg

Those 3 last reptiles were found around the same place of the Z.longissimus of the first post.
Thanks for viewing! :D
Ruggero M.
 
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country: Italy

Re: Z.longissimus male: pictures taken with cell phone

Postby Ruggero M. » Thu Sep 01, 2016 9:51 pm

I've never published these pictures, taken during one day of the month of June, because I didn't find them interesting enough: but now they have another meaning, from what I've seen this evening... :cry:


I've found this baby maura exactly under the same stone where I found the young austriaca (remember this fact for later...)
maurina.jpg


And then two Anguis not far from that place... (maybe female and male?)
orbettino1.jpg

orbettino2.jpg
orbettino2.jpg (227.86 KiB) Viewed 5105 times


Why do I put these pictures in the forum now?
Because, as usual where I live, this place is now almost totally destroyed...
Ruggero M.
 
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Re: Z.longissimus male: pictures taken with cell phone

Postby Ruggero M. » Thu Sep 01, 2016 10:00 pm

Where I found the austriaca and the baby maura, exactly on the same place, is now a caterpillar...
1.jpg


And the rest of the beautiful ecotonal habitat where I usually found reptiles is in this situation...

2.jpg

3.jpg


But in 30-40 years of experience, I'm used to this: ecotonal habitats, with bushes and stones, especially around water courses, are considered less than nothing as value, and, sooner or later, are more or less slowly destroyed.
I knew at least other two or three wonderful habitats, nearby where I live, once very rich in herpetofauna, which have been totally and finally destroyed: and one of these is/was very far from every water course... there was no justification for a "caterpillar demolition"...even if, I must say, reptiles had already abandoned that place years ago, well before the caterpillar final works :cry:
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