scholarly journals Skull osteology and osteological phylogeny of the Western whip snake Hierophis viridiflavus (Squamata, Colubridae)

2020 ◽  
Vol 281 (7) ◽  
pp. 808-833 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Racca ◽  
Andrea Villa ◽  
Lukardis C. M. Wencker ◽  
Marco Camaiti ◽  
Hugues‐Alexandre Blain ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Whip Snake

Body size, diet and reproductive ecology of Coluber hippocrepis in the Rif (Northern Morocco)

2004 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-302 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Pleguezuelos ◽  
Soumia Fahd
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Sexual Maturity ◽  
Prey Size ◽  
Reproductive Ecology ◽  
Size Difference ◽  
Southern Europe ◽  
Strait Of Gibraltar ◽  
Dietary Shift ◽  
Intersexual Difference ◽  
Whip Snake

AbstractAlthough it is generally assumed that the Horseshoe Whip Snake (Coluber hippocrepis) originated in northern Africa, its biology and ecology has been studied mainly in southern Europe. In this paper we report on morphology, feeding, and reproductive ecology of Coluber hippocrepis in the Rif region (northern Morocco). Males attained larger sizes than did females, but there was no body-size difference between populations separated by the Strait of Gibraltar. The species feeds exclusively on vertebrates: mammals (45%), reptiles (28%), birds (17%), and amphibians (10%). There was an ontogenetic dietary shift in terms of frequency of prey consumed and in terms of prey size; moreover, an intersexual difference in prey frequency was found. Sexual maturity was attained at 540 mm snout-vent length (SVL) in males, and 720 mm SVL in females. Males showed a vernal spermatogenic cycle. Oviposition occurred at the beginning of summer, and offspring were observed in the field during September.

The scent of the others: chemical recognition in two distinct populations of the European whip snake, Hierophis viridiflavus

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elisa Bresciani ◽  
Federica Dendi ◽  
Sara Fornasiero ◽  
Marco Zuffi ◽  
Elena Cecchinelli
Keyword(s):  
Communication Systems ◽  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Reproductive Season ◽  
Isolated Populations ◽  
Chemical Recognition ◽  
Behavioural Patterns ◽  
Whip Snake

AbstractIsolated populations of a given species may diverge from conspecifics for a certain series of traits. It is of particular interest when this divergence involves the signals and the related responses used by sexually reproducing animals to identify prospective mating partners. Using behavioural trials during reproductive season, we studied pheromone-mediated response between insular and mainland European whip snakes, Hierophis viridiflavus. Our results revealed that both insular and mainland males can utilise both homotypic and heterotypic chemical cues. However, while insular snakes did not show any preference between the two types of chemical cues, mainland males preferred homotypic odours. These results, though preliminarly, show the existence of asymmetry in the displayed behavioural patterns and support the idea that isolated populations may evolve differences in communication systems.

Colour pattern variation in populations of the European Whip snake, Hierophis viridiflavus: does geography explain everything?

2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Zuffi
Keyword(s):  
Species Distribution ◽  
Distribution Range ◽  
Colour Pattern ◽  
Snake Range ◽  
Normal Colour ◽  
Colour Patterns ◽  
Whip Snake

Abstract Different colour patterns in European Whip snake, range from normal ("viridiflavus" pattern), to abundistic (dark pattern), to melanic-melanotic (black) patterns. Sexes are highly dimorphic, with more abundistic and melanotic-melanic males, than females. Colour patterns are also distributed in well defined areas of the species' distribution range. Normal colour is distributed in N Europe, N, NW and C Italy, while abundistic snakes are typical of Corsica and Sardinia, and melanic-melanotic snakes are very common or exclusive of NE, S Italy and Sicily. Proximal causes that may have driven the distribution of present colour patterns are linked to palaeogeographic events, even if fossil reconstruction of past colonization or a suitable phylogeographic hypothesis are not available.

scholarly journals Repeated use of high risk nesting areas in the European whip snake, Hierophis viridiflavus

2021 ◽  
pp. 142-150
Author(s):  
Xavier Bonnet
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Road Mortality ◽  
Nest Site Fidelity ◽  
Relative Safety ◽  
Report Data ◽  
Repeated Use ◽  
Gravid Females ◽  
Whip Snake

Oviparous snakes deposit their egg clutches in sites sheltered from predation and from strong thermal and hydric fluctuations. Appropriate laying sites with optimum thermal and hydric conditions are generally scarce and are not necessarily localised in the home range. Thus, many gravid females undertake extensive trips for oviposition, and many may converge at the best egg laying sites. Dispersal mortality of neonates post-hatchling is also a critical factor. Assessing the parameters involved in this intergenerational trade-off is difficult however, and no study has succeeded in embracing all of them. Here we report data indicating that gravid females of the highly mobile European whip snake, Hierophis viridiflavus exhibit nest site fidelity whereby they repeatedly deposit their eggs in cavities under sealed roads over many decades. These anthropogenic structures provide benefits of relative safety and suitable incubation conditions (due to the protective asphalted layer?), but they expose both females and neonates to high risk of road mortality. Artificial laying sites constructed at appropriate distances from busy roads, along with artificial continuous well protected pathways (e.g. dense hedges) that connect risky laying sites to safer areas, should be constructed.

The Horseshoe whip snake (Hemorrhois hippocrepis) on Ibiza: predator release in an invasive population

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Elba Montes ◽  
Mónica Feriche ◽  
Esmeralda Alaminos ◽  
Juan Manuel Pleguezuelos
Keyword(s):  
Lower Incidence ◽  
Enemy Release Hypothesis ◽  
Invasion Success ◽  
Enemy Release ◽  
Source Population ◽  
Invasive Population ◽  
Breakage Rate ◽  
Snake Predators ◽  
Whip Snake ◽  
Predator Release

Abstract The key to fighting a biological invasion may lie in understanding every variable that can explain its success. The Enemy Release Hypothesis (ERH) states that when an invader arrives to a new environment, the absence of its common enemies (predators, parasites and competitors) facilitates the invasion success. The Horseshoe whip snake (Hemorrhois hippocrepis) has been recently introduced from the Iberian Peninsula to the island of Ibiza, and it is currently threatening the only endemic vertebrate, the Ibiza wall lizard (Podarcis pityusensis). We hypothesized that the snake invasion success is caused by the absence of natural predators, and we checked the ERH by relating the tail breakage rate to predation pressure. The invasive population showed a much lower incidence of tail breakage than the source population, which is in agreement with the almost absence of snake predators among the Ibizan reduced and naïve native vertebrate community. These results confirm the ERH, and support the prolongation of invasive snake trapping campaigns.

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