Jag hittade Hellenic Herpetological Societys hemsida:
http://www.nhmc.uoc.gr:9091/homeENG.htm
Där finns ett nyhetsbrev från 2004 där man redogör för vilka giftiga ormar som finns i Grekland och var de finns. Det står också lite om ödlor i slutet av texten.
Bildlänkarna och de svenska namnen har jag lagt till.
Which are the poisonous snakes of Greece and where are they found?
In Greece one can see 7 poisonous snake species: 5 different vipers, the Cat snake and the Montpellier snake.
The 5 different viper species are usually geographically isolated:
* the
Ottoman Viper (Vipera xanthina) Turkisk huggorm
http://www.herp.it/indexjs.htm?Speci...ViperXanth.htm is found in some of the islands near the Asia Minor coast (Lesbos, Chios, Samos, Leros, Kalymnos, Patmos, Symi and other islets), in the Evros area, and in the island of Samothraki
* in the islands of Milos complex (Milos, Kimolos, Polyaigos, and Sifnos) we find the
Milos viper (Macrovipera schweizeri) Miloshuggorm
http://www.herp.it/indexjs.htm?Speci...ViperLebet.htm
* in some areas of the Pindos mountain the
Meadow Viper or
Orsinii’s Viper (Vipera ursinii) Ängshuggorm
http://www.herp.it/indexjs.htm?Speci...ViperUrsin.htm
* the
Adder (Vipera berus) Huggorm
http://www.herp.it/indexjs.htm?Speci...ViperBerus.htm is found in some mountainous areas of northern Greece.
* the most common viper species is nevertheless the
Nose-horned Viper (Vipera ammodytes) Sandhuggorm
http://www.herp.it/indexjs.htm?Speci...ViperAmmod.htm that can be observed in the largest part of the country both in the mainland and in many islands of the Aegean and the Ionian.
The
Cat snake (Telescopus fallax) Kattorm
http://www.herp.it/indexjs.htm?Speci...TelesFalla.htm
and the
Montpellier snake (Malpolon monspessulanus) Ödlesnok
http://www.herp.it/indexjs.htm?Speci...MalpoMonsp.htm are opisthoglyph snakes, that is the poison is found in the fangs in the back of the mouth cavity (and not in the front as in the vipers). Additionally the mouth opening of the Cat snake is not big enough to allow it to bite a human. The bite of the Montpellier snake (a species that can reach till 2m long) is in general also not dangerous to humans, even though it can cause pain, nausea or fever to a sensitive person.
Are snakes dangerous?
Most of the snake species encountered in Greece are completely harmless and only the vipers can be a potential danger to humans. Most vipers are nocturnal and are only sporadically observed in the daylight, when they bask or mate. It is easy to distinguish a viper from the other, harmless, species based on their triangular head with the “swollen” cheeks, the stout body (vipers are seldom longer than 1m) and the characteristic zig-zag pattern on their back.
A viper bite is not necessarily poisonous: in only about 30% of the bites there is actual ejection of poison, and thus need for treatment. The other two poisonous snakes (the Cat snake and the Montpellier snake) are practically harmless as their poison is not really strong and additionally is ejected at the back of the mouth and thus acts during the swallowing of the prey. Nevertheless the poison of Malpolon monspessulanus can, rarely and in sensitive persons, cause pain, nausea or even fever.
In general though, all snakes, including poisonous ones prefer to avoid humans instead of confronting them.
Is viper the only poisonous snake in Greece? Because I have heard also of Astritis …
The word “viper” is used to refer to all different species of the Viperidae family. The word “astritis” is used in Northern Peloponnisos to describe the Nose-horned Viper (V. ammodytes). They say that astritis refers to a male viper but, given the difficulty in identifying the two genera, this is obviously a misunderstanding originating in the male pronoun of the word in Greek. The word astritis is also used in other parts of Greece to describe different snake species (not necessarily vipers).
Do we have poisonous lizards in Greece?
No! Poisonous lizards are generally extremely rare. Actually word-wide there are only two poisonous species belonging to the genus Heloderma that live in America.
Many people are afraid that their skin will swallow or that they will develop a rush if a lizard touches them. This perception is most common regarding Hemidactylus turcicus , the small nocturnal lizards that we often see in house walls during summer. It is a common belief that a person can be poisoned if such a Turkish Gecko accidentally falls on him or if one touches it. In reality some kind of rush can develop if an allergic person handles a Gecko. Additionally these species seldom if ever fall as they have tiny suctions on the tip of their fingers.