Nocturnal activity in european snakes

That´s the place to discuss on sytematics, distribution, etc.

Re: Nocturnal activity in european snakes

Postby Martti Niskanen » Fri Jun 19, 2015 2:34 pm

Up here in highly seasonal Finland, Vipera berus can turn pretty much nocturnal. A few years ago a fellow spanish fieldherper came over. The temps were ridiculous. It didn't dip below 25C for a good month. We looked for, and found adders between 23 and 01 hours.

Midsummer weeked going on, but f*ck it's cold.

edit: weeks -> month.
User avatar
Martti Niskanen
 
Posts: 242
Joined: Mon Jan 25, 2010 6:37 pm
Hometown: Jyvaskyla
country: Finland

Re: Nocturnal activity in european snakes

Postby Berislav Horvatic » Fri Jun 19, 2015 5:36 pm

Martti Niskanen wrote:The temps were ridiculous. It didn't dip below 25C for a good month.
We looked for, and found adders between 23 and 01 hours.

Really glad to hear that, because the night activity of V. berus is a "common place" in all
literature on snakes, just taken for granted, but I've never seen any DATA on that...
Berislav Horvatic
 
Posts: 1132
Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2009 4:35 pm
Hometown: Zagreb
country: Croatia

Re: Nocturnal activity in european snakes

Postby Massimo Trentin » Sat Jun 20, 2015 6:41 am

As far as we can call "night" Finnish summer nights ;) .
I guess that in these days the far Northern sky barely turn totally dark,so there's light for most part of night time,isn't it?
Massimo Trentin
 
Posts: 42
Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2014 7:22 am
Hometown: Torrebelvicino
country: Italia

Re: Nocturnal activity in european snakes

Postby Berislav Horvatic » Sat Jun 20, 2015 10:43 am

Massimo Trentin wrote:As far as we can call "night" Finnish summer nights ;) .
I guess that in this days the far Northern sky barely turn totally dark,
so there's light for most part of night time,isn't it?

Yes, of course. I actually meant real nights, dark nights, in general. But even the " Finnish summer nights"
are at least some proof of something that noone has felt obliged to prove at all.... It seems (to me) that
just everyone takes that for granted, in case of V. berus, but on what evidence, actually?
Berislav Horvatic
 
Posts: 1132
Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2009 4:35 pm
Hometown: Zagreb
country: Croatia

Re: Nocturnal activity in european snakes

Postby Ruggero M. » Wed Jun 24, 2015 11:18 am

Thanks to all for their reports.
The most "interesting" thing, for me, is the total lack of reports of nocturnal activity in E.quatuorlineata... 8-)
Aesculapian snakes and leopardsnakes belong now to a different genus (Zamenis), and both species are undoubtedly also highly nocturnal: it may seems rather "strange", but not impossible, that a somehow related species, as the E.quatuorlineata/sauromates, was never seen active in the night by anybody. But, till now, this seems to be a fact! :)
Ruggero M.
 
Posts: 673
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 7:15 pm
Hometown: Pavia
country: Italy

Re: Nocturnal activity in european snakes

Postby Mario Schweiger » Wed Jun 24, 2015 5:59 pm

Ruggero Morimando wrote:Thanks to all for their reports.
The most "interesting" thing, for me, is the total lack of reports of nocturnal activity in E.quatuorlineata... 8-)
Aesculapian snakes and leopardsnakes belong now to a different genus (Zamenis), and both species are undoubtedly also highly nocturnal: it may seems rather "strange", but not impossible, that a somehow related species, as the E.quatuorlineata/sauromates, was never seen active in the night by anybody. But, till now, this seems to be a fact! :)


I have found one time a 4lineata at around 22:00 (together with dozens Natrix sp.) in May on the road on the dam through skutari lake (Virpazar to Podgorica)
Mario (Admin)

Please visit also my personal Herp-site vipersgarden.at
User avatar
Mario Schweiger
Site Admin
 
Posts: 2230
Joined: Wed May 06, 2009 7:57 pm
Location: Obertrum, Salzburg, Austria
Hometown: Obertrum
country: Austria

Re: Nocturnal activity in european snakes

Postby Ruggero M. » Wed Jun 24, 2015 6:46 pm

Thanks Mario! :)
Ruggero M.
 
Posts: 673
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 7:15 pm
Hometown: Pavia
country: Italy

Re: Nocturnal activity in european snakes

Postby Matthijs Hollanders » Fri Jun 26, 2015 8:40 am

On one of the only warm nights last year in the Sierra de Guadarrama we found four or five snakes after dark on the road.
User avatar
Matthijs Hollanders
 
Posts: 221
Joined: Tue Sep 04, 2012 5:01 pm
Hometown: Wageningen
country: Nederland

Previous

Return to Theoretical Section

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests