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Southern Smooth Snake (Coronella girondica). Great Malaga Path

Diputación de Málaga
Culebra lisa meridional (Coronella girondica)

Southern Smooth Snake (Coronella girondica). Great Malaga Path

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Animal Life > Reptiles

IDENTIFICATION  

It is a thin, small snake (up to 60 cm in length), with a small, flattened head and a slightly marked neck. It stands out for its slightly pointed but quadrangular snout. Its pupils are round and its iris has a reddish-orange tone. It has a very characteristic dark spot or band in the shape of an inverted "U" in the upper part of the snout, connecting both eyes with the corner of the mouth. The band extends below the eyes as a "tear". The tail is short and the scales on the body are shiny and smooth (without a keel or a protruding longitudinal midline.) The colour pattern consists of dark and transverse spotted rows, ending up blurring along the back of the body. The base colour of its skin is variable: greyish, brown, ochre and even reddish. The belly is yellowish, whitish or pinkish, with dark spots forming a checkered alternating pattern. It is an aglyphous species, lacking teeth to inoculate poison and glands to produce it.

WHERE DOES IT LIVE (HABITAT)? 

It is a common snake of the Mediterranean region in habitats with open, natural vegetation such as bushes and shrubs, grasslands or cleared forests exposed to the sun, and also clear, rocky areas. It only lives in cultivated areas if these areas alternate with natural vegetation where there is abundant shelter, such as sparse vegetation, stone walls, mounds of stones or rocks.

HOW DOES IT LIVE?

It is normally discrete, active only during twilight and night time. It feeds mainly on small reptiles, actively looking for them in their shelters. At the end of the day, it tends to stop in open areas, such as paths or roads, to absorb the heat from the ground. This moment of the day is the best time to identify it. It searches for shelter under rocks, trunks or in cavities and burrows of other animals. It is completely harmless and not aggressive. It scarcely bites, although it can release a smelly discharge from the cloaca.

HOW DOES IT REPRODUCE?

The smooth snake is an oviparous species. The mating period lasts from May to June. The females lay 4 to 10 eggs in July which hatch about 40 to 80 days later, in August or September. The baby snakes have lengths between 15 and 20 cm at the time of hatching.

WHERE CAN WE SEE IT IN MÁLAGA AND ON THE STAGES OF THE GREAT PATH (GRAN SENDA)?

The southern smooth snake is a common species, but it is linked to the Málaga mountains, since it is absent in the flat and agricultural plains of the northern province. It occupies practically all of the Malaga mountain ranges, from sea level to the summits of the Sierra de las Nieves or Sierra Tejeda. In the Great Path, we can find it on stages 5 to 14 and 20 to 29.

LEVEL OF PROTECTION - THREAT (INVENTORY)

This snake is part of the Andalusian Wildlife Species under Special Protection List. It does not seem to be threatened or have major conservation problems, but it is likely to be affected by the loss of habitat in agricultural areas with intensive exploitation, or in urbanized coastal areas, and in the the mountains foothills, which may explain why it is not present in these areas.

CURIOUS FACTS  

Ophidiophobia is a common disorder in many people who feel fear or panic when seeing a real snake, a toy or simulated one, or even just thinking about them. Unpleasant experiences or religious beliefs, that have been transmitted throughout generations, that these animals symbolize evil and are associated with the devil are one of the reasons for the atavistic fear of snakes. A recent anthropological theory holds that, since many animals have acquired immunity or a means of defense against these reptiles, the primate brain has evolved to develop a greater visual acuity to detect them for defense. This would result in behaviours consisting of a sense of anguish to alert us and to locate them quickly. Fortunately, the vast majority of snakes present in Malaga are completely harmless.

SIMILAR SPECIES (IT CAN BE MISTAKEN WITH...) 

The southern smooth snake can be confused with the western false smooth snake. Both have between 19 and 21 rows of smooth, shiny dorsal scales, a pattern of checkered spots on the ventral region, a dark collar on the neck, as well as dark spots forming "tears" under the eyes. The main difference is that the western false smooth snake does not have the dark band that connects both eyes to the snout, whereas the smooth snake does. The dorsal horizontal bars of the smooth snake could also be a source of confusion with the ladder snake. The "rungs" or dorsal transverse spots of the ladder snake are straight (oblique with respect to the axis in the smooth snake) and do not fade in the final stretch of the body (whereas in the smooth snake, they do).

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