ZAMENIS 175 



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 Cata- 

 lonia, not far from the French frontier. 



Rare or local in the north of its range (Maine-et- 

 Loire, Vienne, Indre, Sarthe, Haute-Saone, 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. ftagelli- 

 formis) is known, like that of " Fouet " and " Lou- 

 cinglant," 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 



