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Tarragona area, Catalonia

PostPosted: Tue Dec 19, 2017 5:46 pm
by Clive Brignull
Hi all, I intend to visit this region in Spain in 2018. But when ?. My target species will be Vipera latasti. While most species are more active in the spring(mating etc) I have been told that this species, in this region, it is the opposite with most activity/sightings/matings around September with young being born early spring. Can anyone confirm this.

Re: Tarragona area, Catalonia

PostPosted: Tue Dec 19, 2017 10:22 pm
by Borji Heras
they are found in Spring as well,but most of the observations in Cataluña área happen in September-October.
you will need to search in Mountain ridges and they are not specially common,but not imposible to find

Re: Tarragona area, Catalonia

PostPosted: Wed Dec 20, 2017 3:03 pm
by Alexandre Roux
1918? Wow you have a time machine ! I do not recommand you to travel at this time of history.

Try looking around Parque del Garraf. Could be nice for V.latastei but never found any there until now.

Re: Tarragona area, Catalonia

PostPosted: Wed Dec 20, 2017 6:15 pm
by Clive Brignull
Amended to save further embarrassement. :oops:

Re: Tarragona area, Catalonia

PostPosted: Thu Dec 21, 2017 7:50 am
by Ruggero M.
Clive Brignull wrote:Hi all, I intend to visit this region in Spain in 2018. But when ?. My target species will be Vipera latasti. While most species are more active in the spring(mating etc) I have been told that this species, in this region, it is the opposite with most activity/sightings/matings around September with young being born early spring. Can anyone confirm this.


When I read "youngs born early spring..." I thought: how can it be that a fetus develops during hibernation???

And, in fact, if you read here: http://booksandjournals.brillonline.com ... 3322763954

you can see that babies are born from the month of august, and not in early spring... :D

Re: Tarragona area, Catalonia

PostPosted: Thu Dec 21, 2017 11:28 am
by Alexander Pieh
I found this couple in spring 2016 (22.04.2016 Burgos).
However, this was one observation - not a research.
Sincerely
Alex

Re: Tarragona area, Catalonia

PostPosted: Thu Dec 21, 2017 3:48 pm
by Ilian Velikov
Alexander Pieh wrote:I found this couple in spring 2016 (22.04.2016 Burgos).

That's quite far from Tarragona...

Re: Tarragona area, Catalonia

PostPosted: Thu Dec 21, 2017 6:26 pm
by Guillaume Gomard
Alexandre Roux wrote:Try looking around Parque del Garraf. Could be nice for V.latastei but never found any there until now.

Same for me, even though I stayed in the area for 4 months (but it was summer time and I was not so experienced...). Yet I could find several Timon lepidus, Psammodromus hispanicus, Coronella girondica, Malpolon monspessulanus and many interesting insects.

Close to Barcelona there is the Montserrat area which is nice for a walk + V.latastei was reported there:

http://trini-salva.blogspot.de/2011/05/ ... erior.html

Re: Tarragona area, Catalonia

PostPosted: Thu Dec 21, 2017 8:40 pm
by Clive Brignull
I have an exact location and positive ID from the Muntanyes de la Costa Daurada. If this species is also found in colonies (as with other European Vipera species) that this may be good place to start. As for the spring births, here in the UK late hatching Natrix sometimes hibernate immediately and re-appear in the spring with all the characteristics of a spring hatch having not put on any weight or growth during the winter months. Could this be the misjudged reason for baby V.latasti. seen in early spring.