Nocturnal activity in european snakes

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Nocturnal activity in european snakes

Postby Ruggero M. » Thu Jun 18, 2015 1:21 pm

Yesterday night I was driving in well preserved hilly areas of the Alessandria province in northern Italy, searching for a "Will o' the Wisp" light, with a friend of mine, while I saw a small snake on the asphalt of the main, yet small, road. It was 22,30 and the temperature (measured by the thermometer of my friend's car) was approximately 17 °C.
The snake was a newborn female Zamenis longissimus.
baby.jpg
Picture taken by Alessio L.

We saw also many fireflies and some luminous unkown (to me) insects, which I suppose to be, maybe, larval stages of firefly.... (?) Their light was continuous (not intermittent as in fireflies) and of a light green colour.
Here is one of those luminous insects
insect.jpg

Unfortunately we saw no "Will o' the Wisp" lights... :oops:

But my idea is now the following: to list here the european snake species we've observed "active" at night, in total dark (except the light of the stars or the moon).

I begin with my experience:
Z. situla: some/many (I mean =>3) specimens observed active at night
Z.longissimus: some/many (=>3) specimens observed active at night
T.fallax: but this is well known... ;) 3 specimens of the 4 I've observed were found at night, and only one, under a stone, during daytime
C.girondica: some/many specimens (surely more than 3) observed at night, one of which in October (here below is the picture of this specimen) in Oltrepò Pavese, not far from my hometown
5 ottobre.jpg

N.natrix: at least 1-2 specimens observed active at night
N.maura: at least 1-3 specimens observed active at night
N.tessellata: I remember well one specimen on an asphalted road in a late afternoon/early evening, but I cannot remember specimens active in total dark (anyway I'm pretty sure they do it too, just as the two other Natrix species)
H.viridiflavus: never observed specimens active during the night, but my brother (who knows this species and some other snake species very well) met one subadult specimen crossing a road during the night in Tuscany
E.quatuorlineata: never observed specimens at night
Malpolon sp.: never in the night
Vipera ammodytes: one specimen, a male, observed crossing a road in the night in spring in Greece
Vipera aspis: one female (yellow and beautiful) specimen seen crossing a hill road in the Oltrepò Pavese (Pavia) in a summer night
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Re: Nocturnal activity in european snakes

Postby Berislav Horvatic » Thu Jun 18, 2015 2:32 pm

We saw also many fireflies and some luminous unkown (to me) insects, which I suppose to me, maybe, larval
stages of firefly.... (?) Their light was continuous (not intermittent as in fireflies) and of a light green colour.

I would say those were just the female fireflies. That's what they look like.
Also, in some species of fireflies the light is continuous, in some others intermittent.
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Re: Nocturnal activity in european snakes

Postby Ruggero M. » Thu Jun 18, 2015 2:50 pm

Thanks Bero... :oops: Edo Razzetti said to me the same thing per telephon: he studies fireflies, and he said to me there are more species... I'm totally lacking knowledge in this field, and my friend Alessio said to me yesterday night: "They don't fly... they are not fireflies!" :lol:
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Re: Nocturnal activity in european snakes

Postby Berislav Horvatic » Thu Jun 18, 2015 3:10 pm

Ruggero Morimando wrote: ... my friend Alessio said to me yesterday night: "They don't fly... they are not fireflies!" :lol:

In Lampyris noctiluca and Lamprohiza splendidula only males have wings and fly. In Lampyris noctiluca only
the (nonflying!) females emit light. So, if it both flies and emits light, it's most probably a male Lamprohiza
splendidula
.
(Here I mention only the two most common species around here. In Croatia they are the only ones, so it's
easy...)

Regarding nocturnal activities of snakes, V. ammodytes has been observed by quite a few people, including
the recent find of an 89.5 cm male by Mladen Zadravec. So, Vammo is a closed story.
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Re: Nocturnal activity in european snakes

Postby Ruggero M. » Thu Jun 18, 2015 5:43 pm

Thanks again!
What does it mean "closed story" for ammo? :? ;)
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Re: Nocturnal activity in european snakes

Postby Alexandre Roux » Thu Jun 18, 2015 6:44 pm

I will add some you didn't list from my personnal experience:

- Malpolon monspessulanus (one juvenile quickly crossing the road next to someone's fire -> disturb?)
- Rhinechis scalaris (2 juveniles found at night, probably hunting their food, and I heard of adults found with pictures from Matt Wilson and Daniel Philips in the South of France).
- Hierophis viridiflavus (I know you listed it but I just come to confirm as I found a pretty large one moving on a stone gabion and entering it during very dark and warm night).
- Vipera latastei (Matthieu Berroneau will confirm because that's him who gave me the advice. I found one crossing the road at night near Burgos, Spain).
- Vipera seoanei (I found an adult close to Spain border, in France, in the middle of the road while walking to a river edge).
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Re: Nocturnal activity in european snakes

Postby Ruggero M. » Thu Jun 18, 2015 7:11 pm

Thanks Alexandre! :)

For R.scalaris I had no doubts, cause I've read this fact many years ago in the beautiful two volumes book "Schlangen" of Ludwig Trutnau. He wrote, if I remember well, of many specimens found, during hot nights, on the roads around Barcelona in Spain.
I too tried to find this species driving on the roads around Vaucluse in France, during a hot summer night, but I had no luck with that single attempt. :(

P.S. Found this interesting article on the web, about nocturnal activity in some american ratsnakes... :roll:
http://www.google.it/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=& ... GQ&cad=rja
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Re: Nocturnal activity in european snakes

Postby Matthieu Berroneau » Thu Jun 18, 2015 8:06 pm

Yes, I confirm Alexandre ;) .
And also Coronella girondica, Natrix often hunting by night, Vipera aspis...
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Re: Nocturnal activity in european snakes

Postby Berislav Horvatic » Thu Jun 18, 2015 8:18 pm

Ruggero Morimando wrote:What does it mean "closed story" for ammo? :? ;)

It very simply means "a fact that has been proven enough - not to be doubted any more by anyone",
at least for me. Enough reliable evidence has been accumulated to reassure the sceptics or, as I
called them, the "unbelievers". Vammos are active by night, and not only at very hot summer nights.
We had a discussion on that topic here quite recently, viewtopic.php?f=13&t=2191, and not for the
first time, so really no need to repeat it. Done. Case closed.
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Re: Nocturnal activity in european snakes

Postby Alexandre Roux » Fri Jun 19, 2015 8:51 am

Matthieu Berroneau wrote:Natrix often hunting by night


Just found one yesterday night while observing Little owls ! :lol:
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