Smooth Snake

About the Smooth Snake

The smooth snake (Coronella austriaca) is a species of small dimensions in the family Colubridae. The species is found in northern and central Europe, but also as far east as northern Iran. The Reptile Database recognizes two subspecies as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies described here.

There are two subspecies: Coronella austriaca is found from the south of England through France and the Low Countries to northern Spain and Portugal, Germany, Norway and Sweden (as far north as latitude 63°), Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Sicily (but not in Corsica or Sardinia), the western Balkans and Greece, and European Russia as far north as latitude 57°. In Asia, it is found from Turkey to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia and northern Iran. It is absent in Denmark despite the species being found just south of the German border as well as in southern Sweden. The species is only known from Denmark from 6 specimens, all found between 1870 and 1914.

In Finland, the species is found only in Åland, and it is not common there. Both sexes of C. austriaca grow to an average total length (including tail... Wikipedia →