Size.—This handsome snake grows to a length of 6 feet, the var. caspius even to 8 feet. I have seen a specimen of this variety, from Salonica, which measures 72⁄3 feet.
Distribution.—From the Atlantic coast of Europe to South-Western Asia. The typical form, in its narrowest sense, inhabits the Southern Tyrol, the north-eastern corner of Italy, and the countries to the east of the Adriatic, as far as Greece and Crete. The specimens from France, Switzerland, Italy, Giglio, Montecristo, Elba, Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, and Malta, are mostly referable to the form known as Z. viridiflavus. Farther to the east the species is represented by the vars. caspius and asianus, of which the distribution has been mentioned above. From Spain, this snake is only on record from Catalonia, not far from the French frontier.
Rare or local in the north of its range (Maine-et-Loire, Vienne, Indre, Sarthe, Haute-Saône, Yonne, Aube, in France, Switzerland north of the Alps), it is one of the commonest snakes in Italy and on the borders and islands of the Adriatic, as well as on practically all the islands of the Mediterranean east of the Baleares. The highest altitudes at which it has been met with are 3,900 feet in the Alps, 4,500 feet in the Balkan Peninsula.
Habits.—The name “Whip-snake,” under which an American representative of this genus (Z. flagelliformis) is known, like that of “Fouet” and “Loucinglant,” which have been bestowed on it in some parts of France, expresses the quick movements with which, when captured, this snake lashes its long, slender tail, at the same time furiously biting the hand that has seized it. The generic term Zamenis, of Greek derivation, alludes to its viciousness, which also accounts for its German name, “Zornnatter.” This snake, occurring in Malta, may well have been the “Viper” which fastened on the hand of St. Paul. Some specimens have been kept for months in captivity without losing their savage temper, hissing and flying with open mouth at anyone approaching the glass walls of their prison; others, on the other hand, become quite tame in a very short time, such as one which I kept for nearly two years. Except when sunning itself on a cold early morning in the spring, this snake is always on the alert, and difficult to capture, uncoiling itself and darting away like an arrow at the least disturbance. It lives in preference among shrubs or on the edges of woods, avoiding damp localities, and females at least appear to have sedentary tastes. Lataste tells us of one, near Bordeaux, which he repeatedly met for over two years within 20 yards of the same spot, a bush between a wood and a meadow, without ever being able to capture it.
ZAMENIS GEMONENSIS, VAR. CASPIUS
After Sordelli
ZAMENIS DAHLII
After Sordelli
