Posted by:
WW
at Fri Jun 4 03:16:08 2004 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by WW ]
>>Hello, A friend of mine contacted me about a snake they almost stepped on while hiking in the mountains near Grenoble, France. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the snake, just a sketchy description. I was hoping that someone might be able to suggest possible species based on my description below and the region. Sure wish I had a picture! Anyway the snake was described to me as follows:
>>~ 1 meter long
>>~ 1 inch in diameter
>>-brownish in color with dark brown/black bands running normal to the length of the snake
What do you mean by "normal to"? Along the body or crossbars across the body?
If they were crossbars (and bearing in mind it was in the mountains), Vipera aspis would be the most likely choice in that region - assuming that the length of the snake was somewhet overestimated, which most people do. Vipera berus may also occur in the area. In European vipers (especially V. berus), the head is much less distinct from the body than in N. American pitvipers.
Other options include: Coluber viridiflavus (whip snake - dark, and speckled on anterior body, longitudinal stripes on posterior body, very fast moving), Zamenis longissimus (olive, brownish or greyish, some white stippling, sometimes faint longitudinal bands), Coronella austriaca (greyish brown with smaler dark markings, some indication of longitudinal stripes), Natrix natrix helvetica (grass snake - olive, yellow "collar", black bars on side of body) and Natrix maura (rather like Vipera berus, but almost always in or near water. If you go to images.google.com, and type in any of these scientific names, you should get a whole bunch of photos that will help you decide. If the encounter was at high altitude, then Zamenis, Coluber and either of the Natricines would be unlikely.
Cheers,
Wolfgang
>>-I asked him about the head of the snake, and showed him the difference between coulumbrid and viper heads. He said it looked more like a coulumbrid (did not have a pronounced "V" head).
>>
>>
>>Not a big deal, but if anyone has any idea of the type of snake and possible a picture, please post! Curiousity has really got the best of me on this one!
>>Thanks
>>Jesse Walters
>>-----
>>1.0 Corn Snake
>>"Mr. Hat"
>>1.0 Ball Python
>>"Kitty"
-----
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RE: Snake Sighting Near Grenoble, France - WW, Fri Jun 4 03:16:08 2004