RATSNAKES AND ALLIES
Physical Characteristics - It varies in color from yellowish, gray, and brown to pinkish. The back is covered from the neck to the base of the tails with dark transverse blotches that combine in place into a ribbon. Centered on the neck is the mark shaped like a horseshoe with the ends pointing forward. A black stripe runs from behind the eye to the corner of the mouth. The belly has 2 rows of square blothes or two longitundinal stripes.
Length - Up to 28 inches.
Distribution and behavior - The distribution of this snake reaches from the southern Tyrol across Italy, southern France, and the Pyrenean peninsula to northwestern Africa. It likes to lie in stone heaps, loose rock walls, under bouders, and in crevices. Its diet consists almost purely of lizards.
SOUTHERN SMOOTH SNAKES
