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Keffalonia and Peloponnese 2010: |
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daveg Member Joined: 02 Jul 2006 No. of posts: 24  View other posts by daveg |
Posted: 03 Nov 2010 Just a few pics from trips to Greece this year. The Montpellier snake and Greek Algyroides (?) were from Keffalonia in late July. Weather as you'd expect was very hot so there werent too many reptiles around. The snake was in a shady spot in a drainage ditch just above the beach at Karavados. Gave me a nip but then calmed down quickly while a couple of elderly Greek ladies looked on in amazement or horror. My wife took the pics and also takes credit for spotting the snake in the first place. I didnt suffer any side effects from the bite as this was quite a young example of approx 30 cm and it didnt use its back fangs to bite me.
This is a close up showing the head scales. The long frontal scale seems to confirm it is a Montpellier although at first I thought the snakes pattern was like that of a Balkan whip snake.
The lizard below was on a wall close to our apartment between Lassi and Argostoli. I think its an Algyroides judging by the picture in the Collins Britain & Europe Reptiles and Amphibian field guide.
Have just been for a week (last in Oct) in the Southern Peloponnese staying near to Koroni. We visited my step daughters family who live in Mavromatti near the site of Ancient Messinia and did a bit of work helping to prune their olive trees of excess branches before the final harvest of the olives in November. Ideal reptile habitat but alas no snakes were found although Im sure there must be loads hiding in the tumbledown stone walls. Again my wife was quick to spot something that seemed to look like a snake but it turned out to be a young glass lizard with the distinctive dark barred pattern.
The locals here are terrified of snakes and will kill them on site. I think the only venemous snake in the area is the nose horned viper? Just a few lizards from the coast near to Koroni. Peloponesse wall lizards were common when the sun was out although unfortunately we had several rainy and windy days mid week.
I think the above is a male judging by the colouration. Below is probably a female.
Below is the wall next to the sea where I did my morning lizard spotting walks. One (female?) peloponnese wall lizard looking for its breakfast.
The baby lizard below was found inland close to a ruined monastery and small river in the hills near to the Ancient Messinian site. Not sure if its a young wall lizard or something else. Can anyone help with an ID?
Finally no self respecting Greek holiday apartment can go without its quota of geckos. Here was one of ours.
Hope to get back to this part of Greece in the spring next year. I would imagine it remains a good place for reptiles and amphibians throughout November as max daytime temperatures are still up to 22 deg C and everywhere is green and verdant after the October rains Dave
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tim hamlett Senior Member Joined: 17 Dec 2006 No. of posts: 572  View other posts by tim hamlett |
Posted: 04 Nov 2010 great holidays! thanks for sharing. tim |
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Jeroen Senior Member Joined: 03 Nov 2004 No. of posts: 121  View other posts by Jeroen |
Posted: 05 Nov 2010 Snake is a Caspian Whip Snake (Dolichophis caspius). Baby lizard is juvenile Balkan Green Lizard (Lacerta trilineata).
Jeroen Speybroeck http://www.hylawerkgroep.be/jeroen/ |
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daveg Member Joined: 02 Jul 2006 No. of posts: 24 View other posts by daveg |
Posted: 05 Nov 2010 Thanks Tim, Jeroen. Caspian Whip Snake, nice one. Now I've looked at some other photos of the species on the euro field herping website the ID is clear. Seems like some adults in Greece retain the juvenile colouration? There was another similar snake found DOR near our apartment in Lassi that a fellow holiday maker bought for me to see. The photo is rubbish but if this is another Caspian then they must be be quite common on Keffalonia.  Here's another pic of the original snake showing the drainage channel where it was found.  Dave |
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Jeroen Senior Member Joined: 03 Nov 2004 No. of posts: 121 View other posts by Jeroen |
Posted: 06 Nov 2010 This dead one does look like a Montpellier to me, in fact. Jeroen Speybroeck http://www.hylawerkgroep.be/jeroen/ |
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daveg Member Joined: 02 Jul 2006 No. of posts: 24 View other posts by daveg |
Posted: 08 Nov 2010 Jeroen thanks for your ID's |
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ben rigsby Senior Member Joined: 27 Apr 2010 No. of posts: 337 View other posts by ben rigsby |
Posted: 09 Nov 2010 nice pics daveg. thanks for sharing them. did you see the Peloponnese Slow Worm (Anguis Cephallonicus) at all during your stay? regards, ben Diversity. |
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Suzi Senior Member Joined: 06 Apr 2005 No. of posts: 860 View other posts by Suzi |
Posted: 09 Nov 2010 "The locals here are terrified of snakes and will kill them on site." This is true of most locals I've met - Lake District, Dorset & Devon. Snake lovers are thin on the ground! Suz |
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daveg Member Joined: 02 Jul 2006 No. of posts: 24 View other posts by daveg |
Posted: 09 Nov 2010 I'm afraid not Ben although the weather conditions seemed favourable being moist but warmish. Anguis P is supposed to be found in humid and rather wooded environments so maybe I wasnt in the right habitat for them this time ? I was mainly in olive groves and on the coast. Will keep on looking next visit though. Suzi The locals jumped out their skin when I picked up the baby Glass Lizard and small Whip Snake. I might as well have been trying to catch a giant King Cobra as far as they were concerned! |
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Guests Guest Joined: 25 Jan 2003 No. of posts: -78 View other posts by Guests |
Posted: 03 Mar 2011 You would be better posting this question on the herpetofauna forum rather than The Pelponnese, hopefully you will get more replies. |
- Keffalonia and Peloponnese 2010 |
