Coronella girondica
Species of snake
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coronella girondica, commonly known as the southern smooth snake or Riccioli's snake, is a species of harmless snake in the family Colubridae. The species is endemic to southern Europe and northern Africa. No subspecies are recognized as being valid.[1]
| Coronella girondica | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Coronella |
| Species: | C. girondica |
| Binomial name | |
| Coronella girondica (Daudin, 1803) | |
 | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
Geographic range
Description
C. girondica is brown, grayish, or reddish dorsally, with dark brown or blackish transverse bars or spots. On the nape there is a dark U-shaped mark, or a pair of dark elongate spots. There is a dark streak from the eye to the corner of the mouth, a dark band from eye to eye across the prefrontals, and a black line below the eye. Ventrally it is yellowish or red with black markings. The dorsal scales, which are smooth, are in 21 rows (rarely 19). Adults may attain a total length of 62 cm (2 feet), of which 12.5 cm (5 inches) is tail.[3]
Habitat
The natural habitats of C. girondica are temperate forests, Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation, rocky areas, pastureland, and plantations.[2]
It is threatened by habitat loss.
Conservation status
This species, C. girondica, is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v3.1, 2001).[2] Species are listed as such due to their wide distribution, presumed large population, or because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category. Year assessed: 2005.[4]
