Head-Shields.—Rostral broader than deep, just visible from above. Frontal once and one-third to once and a half as long as broad, as long as its distance from the end of the snout, shorter than the parietals. Loreal longer than deep. One pre- and two postoculars. Temporals 1 + 2 or 2 + 3. Upper labials eight (rarely seven), fourth and fifth (rarely third and fourth) entering the eye. Four or five lower labials in contact with the anterior chin-shields, which are longer than the posterior.
Scales smooth, with two apical pits, in twenty-five or twenty-seven rows. Ventral shields rounded, not angulate laterally, 222 to 260; anal divided; subcaudals 68-90.
Fig. 25 (after Sordelli)
Coloration.—Typical form ([Plate VII]., third figure) greyish or pale brown above, with one dorsal series of dark brown, reddish-brown, or bright red, black-edged transverse spots and a lateral alternating series of smaller black spots with or without lighter centres; usually a [Y]-shaped dark marking on the occiput and nape; a crescentic black band from eye to eye across the prefrontal shields, an oblique black band from behind the eye to the angle of the mouth, and a black spot or vertical bar below the eye. Lower parts white, checkered with black, or nearly entirely black. Iris reddish-golden.
In some specimens (var. quadrilineatus) the dorsal spots are replaced by two brown or red, black-edged stripes bordering a pale greyish or yellowish vertebral stripe ([Plate VII]., fourth figure); such specimens are so coloured from birth. This colour variety, which is so strikingly different from the typical form, is connected with the latter by the var. schwoederi, Werner, in which the spots form two vertebral series, and the var. elsneri, Werner, in which the light vertebral band is broken up by dark transverse bars, producing a ladder-like pattern.
Size.—Rarely exceeding a length of 3 feet.
Distribution.—Southern Italy, Sicily, Malta, Istria, Dalmatia, and other parts of the Balkan Peninsula, Grecian islands, Crimea, Asia Minor. The altitudinal range does not extend beyond 1,600 feet.
Habits.—This is not only the prettiest European snake as regards its markings, whether in the form of spots or of stripes, but also the most graceful in its movements. Unless compelled to fly for safety, there is something slow and deliberate in its behaviour which is more suggestive of Coronella than of most other species of Coluber. It is fond of climbing, and if the terrarium in which it is kept be provided with a bush or small tree, it will spend most of the time gracefully coiled round the branches. Usually very savage when fresh caught, some specimens become quite tame in captivity. In Dalmatia, where it is not uncommon, this snake is found principally among prickly shrubs, in hedges, or on old walls. It awakens from its winter slumber later than other South European snakes. Although occasionally taking lizards, its principal food consists of mammals and birds, which are killed before being devoured, the Leopard Snake being, like the other members of the genus Coluber, a constrictor.