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Field Identification of the Sex of the Smooth Snake (Coronella austriaca Laurenti)

1988; The Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles; Volume: 22; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/1564356

1937-2418

J.J. van Gelder, J. H. J. Olders, L. A. J. M. Mertens, H. L. M. Kersten,

Bat Biology and Ecology Studies

Measurements of four external morphological features of 132 live smooth snakes were compared with data from the literature. A statistical evaluation of snout-vent length, the number of ventralia, and the number of subcaudalia enabled the development of a classification criterion by means of which the sex of a snake can be determined from the numbers of ventral body and tail scales. More than 90% of 132 snakes could be sexed in this way with greater than 95% confidence. The identification of sex of 22 preserved snakes from Dutch museums by means of this criterion proved to be 100% correct upon dissection of the specimens. The smooth snake, Coronella austriaca, is one of three Dutch indigenous snakes. Its occurrence in the Netherlands is limited to a few areas. It prefers dry heathland, forest borders, clearings in forests, stony areas and slopes, with or without some dis- persed shrubs. Several different morphological features have been used for field identification of