Talk:Grass snake/Archive 1

Archive 1

Tropidonotus natrix

Page should mention that grass snake is Tropidonotus natrix in older literature. I made the redirect page, but am unsure how to include this to the article. See Britannica. DLX 13:46, 25 April 2007 (UTC)

Non-venomous?

I know that this species is harmless to humans and is normally considered non-venomous, but does anyone actually have a reliable source for this? Not just a repetition of "grass snakes are non-venomous" in a book, but a reference to an actual investigation on these snakes that looked for venom production and didn't find it. --Graminophile (talk) 16:12, 25 February 2008 (UTC)

Also, how does it kill its prey? Is it a constrictor?! It seems that this should be mentioned if it's not-venomous. I only really know African snakes, but they are either poisonous or constrictors. Grj23 (talk) 07:52, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Our snakes here in the UK are so much tamer. It is neither venomous nor a constrictor. It just swallows its prey (which are small things like frogs and fishes) whole! (see eg [1]) Billlion (talk) 19:15, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Billlion - Thanks for the link, but it seems you didn't read it:

"Notes
Although grass snakes produce a venomous secretion that is toxic to small animals, they are harmless to humans."

This is the heart of my question - is there any scientific literature on the presence or absence of venom in this (or related) species?--Graminophile (talk) 21:21, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

To answer my own question: Concise Encyclopedia Biology —Preceding unsigned comment added by Graminophile (talk • contribs) 22:37, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

Excellent. Does someone want to put that in the article with a reference to above? Billlion (talk) 05:31, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

On QI they just claimed an Australian biologist discovered all snakes are venomous to some extent. I didn't catch the name.Billlion (talk) 21:50, 11 June 2016 (UTC)

New species/losing a subspecies

I'm no expert on the subject, so won't attempt to change the article here, and I'm sure a more robust site is needed for the information, but the BBC have reported that a new species of Grass Snake has been found in the UK: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40853286 81.129.252.113 (talk) 15:12, 7 August 2017 (UTC)

The BBC article clearly states that both Natrix natrix and Natrix Helvetica occur in the UK rather than all UK grass snakes being Natrix Helvetica as the wiki now states — Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.31.202.190 (talk) 09:18, 8 August 2017 (UTC)

However, if you go back to the source paper http://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-07847-9, which is open access, you will see that there are almost no records of Natrix natrix in Great Britain and the few that there have been are though to originate from snakes imported for the pet trade. Quetzal1964 (talk) 17:34, 12 August 2017 (UTC)

UK images

If barred grass snake has been split as a separate species, should mages from the UK be replaced? Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 18:27, 24 September 2017 (UTC)

Distribution

The text about distribution doesn't match the map in the infobox. I suspect that the map in the infobox shows the combined distribution of Natrix natrix and Natrix helvetica, i.e. predates the split into two species Lavateraguy (talk) 19:30, 17 July 2019 (UTC)

Distribution map

The text of this article says that N. natrix isn't found in Great Britain, but that the related snake found there was reclassified in 2017. The distribution map was created in 2014, so does not reflect the reclassification.

I've found a page which describes the ranges of different subspecies, but I don't think it's detailed enough to use to make a map. [2]

Should the map be deleted from the article until such time as an up to date version is available?

Aoeuidhtns (talk) 15:37, 20 March 2020 (UTC)

I have a copy of J.W Steward's The Snakes of Europe which shows the distribution of the then subspecies. I wouldn't want to try and put it on Commons or anything, but I could share privately if it would help to clarify matters. William Avery (talk) 17:30, 20 March 2020 (UTC)

Some links

Here are some links with information about Grass Snakes from the British perspective. The pictures are interesting (it you have not seen the English version) by contrast to the typically much darker ones exhibited on other European language wikipedias [3],[4], .

• Arkive
• brantacan
• Offwell Woodland & Wildlife Trust
• herpetofauna
• Bioimages

These should all now move to the page onN helvetica.S C Cheese (talk) 23:13, 13 August 2020 (UTC)

Following reclassification of N helvetica

1 The distribution map for N natrix needs to be updated.

2 British references in this page should move to N helvetica.S C Cheese (talk) 23:13, 13 August 2020 (UTC)

I've been trying to sort existing paragraphs on N natrix and N helvetica onto the appropriate page.S C Cheese (talk) 23:49, 13 August 2020 (UTC)

Good job S C Cheese. I have done some editing on the Natrix helvetica page and added stuff about the (lack of) cobra-like defence in GB —GRM (talk) 15:43, 8 September 2020 (UTC)

Featured picture scheduled for POTD

Hello! This is to let editors know that File:2017.07.17.-17-Tiefer See oder Grubensee-Storkow (Mark)--Ringelnatter.jpg, a featured picture used in this article, has been selected as the English Wikipedia's picture of the day (POTD) for December 30, 2021. A preview of the POTD is displayed below and can be edited at Template:POTD/2021-12-30. For the greater benefit of readers, any potential improvements or maintenance that could benefit the quality of this article should be done before its scheduled appearance on the Main Page. If you have any concerns, please place a message at Wikipedia talk:Picture of the day. Thank you! Cwmhiraeth (talk) 11:31, 2 December 2021 (UTC)

The grass snake (Natrix natrix) is a Eurasian non-venomous colubrid snake that grows to around a metre (3 ft) in length. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Its prey, often common frogs or toads, is caught and swallowed whole. While digesting a large meal, the snake does not travel far, preferring to bask in the sun. Two or three significant food items may supply an individual's needs for the whole season, with the snake finding an underground refuge, not subject to freezing, in which to overwinter. This grass snake was photographed near Storkow in Brandenburg, Germany.

Photograph credit: Andreas Eichler

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Rear fanged venomous?

Ive read a few things saying they may be rear fanged venomous. Is this true? here are some sources

https://www.livescience.com/7551-snakes-fangs.html

also could it be poisonous as it eats amphibians, similarly to some hognose snakes and they retain the poison, thus making them poisonous.

This may be a reach but could it be something to look into? Realfakebezalbob (talk) 19:49, 21 July 2022 (UTC)

Map

The map is not accurate. The snake populates also areas as the Iberian peninsula. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.171.238.3 (talk) 06:01, 14 September 2022 (UTC)