Aesculapian Snake
| Aesculapian Snake | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Zamenis |
| Species: | Z. longissimus |
| Binomial name | |
| Zamenis longissimus (Laurenti, 1768) |
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The Aesculapian Snake (Elaphe longissima or Zamenis longissimus) is a nonvenomous snake native to Europe.
Contents |
[edit] Description
They hatch at around 30 cm (11.8 in) and average at around 110 cm (43.3 in) but can grow up to 200 cm (78.7 in). They are dark, long, slender, and shiny. Juveniles can easily be confused with juvenile Grass snakes, also having a yellow collar on their neck. Juveniles are light green or brownish-green with various darker patterns along the flanks and on their back. They appear to have two darker patches in the form of lines running on the top of the flanks. Adults are much more uniform, sometimes being olive-yellow, brownish-green, sometimes almost black. When they have a pale color, sometimes two darker lines can be visible, but if their body color is dark, they usually have white freckles all over their body. Their belly is yellow.[2]
[edit] Range
Found over most of France except in the north, the Spanish Pyrenees and the eastern side of the Spanish northern coast, Italy (except the south and Sicily), the Balkan peninsula and parts of Switzerland and Austria. Some isolated populations in western Germany and in the northwest of the Czech Republic.[3] The present range of the Aesculapian snake coincides with the boundaries of the Roman Republic in the late 1st century BC (see map).[4] (Exceptions are the snake's scarcity in northern Spain and central Germany.) This may not be coincidence: V.L. Laughlin hypothesized that this geographical distribution is the result of the intentional placement and later release of these snakes from the temples of Asclepius, classical god of medicine, where they were important in the medical rituals and worship of the god.[5][6]
[edit] Diet
Their main food source are rodents. They also eat lizards and sometimes bird eggs as well as birds. They constrict their prey. Juveniles eat mainly lizards.[7]
[edit] Behavior
They can be rather tame, confident that their coloration will keep them hidden within their natural environment. They usually disappear and hide, but if cornered they may sometimes stand their ground and try to intimidate their opponent, sometimes with a chewing-like movement of the mouth and occasionally biting. They are active by day. In the warmer months of the year, they come out in late afternoon or early morning. They are very good climbers.[8]
[edit] Reproduction
Breeding occurs when the snakes wake up from hibernation in spring, a week after, they are all looking for each other and mating begins. After only a few weeks about 15 eggs are laid (extremes are from 9 to 20 eggs) in a moist, warm spot, usually under hay piles, in rotting wood piles and other places of this kind. The eggs incubate for around 10 weeks before hatching.[9]
[edit] History
The Aesculapian snake was first described by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in 1768, the scientific name of this species is Zamenis longissimus, Zamenis is of unknown origin however longissimus comes from Latin and means "long", this snake is one of the longest over its range. The common name of this snake — "Aesculape" — refers to the classical god of healing (the Greek Asclepius and Roman Aesculapius), this snake was encouraged around temples dedicated to him. This species is carried in an annual religious procession in Cucullo situated in central Italy.
[edit] Gallery
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[edit] See also
List of reptiles of Italy
List of Snakes
List of reptiles of Europe
[edit] References
- "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species". http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/search.php?freetext=Elaphe+longissima&modifier=phrase&criteria=wholedb&taxa_species=1&redlistCategory%5B%5D=all&country%5B%5D=all&cty_default=1&aquatic%5B%5D=all&aqu_default=1®ions%5B%5D=all®_default=1&habitats%5B%5D=all&threats%5B%5D=all&redlistAssessyear%5B%5D=all&growths%5B%5D=all. Retrieved 2008-09-06.[dead link]
- ^ IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- ^ "Aesculapian snake, Zamenis longissimus". http://www.herpfrance.com/reptile/aesculapian_snake_zamenis_longissimus.php.
- ^ "Aesculapian snake, Zamenis longissimus". http://www.herpfrance.com/reptile/aesculapian_snake_zamenis_longissimus.php.
- ^ Hart, Gerald D. (2000), Asclepius: The God of Medicine, London: The Royal Society of Medicine Press, Ltd., pg 44.
- ^ Laughlin, V.L. (1962), "The Aesculapian Staff and the Caduceus as Medical Symbols", J Int Col Surgeons, 37(4): 82-92.
- ^ Schmidt, KP and RF Inger (1957), Reptiles of the World, New York: Hanover House, Garden City, pg 211.
- ^ "Aesculapian snake, Zamenis longissimus". http://www.herpfrance.com/reptile/aesculapian_snake_zamenis_longissimus.php.
- ^ "Aesculapian snake, Zamenis longissimus". http://www.herpfrance.com/reptile/aesculapian_snake_zamenis_longissimus.php.
- ^ "Aesculapian snake, Zamenis longissimus". http://www.herpfrance.com/reptile/aesculapian_snake_zamenis_longissimus.php.
[edit] External links
