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REPTILES & AMPHIBIANS

Even casual tourists to Thásos, as elsewhere in the Aegean, are fascinated by the brightly coloured Green Lizards Lacerta viridis (often with a striking blue throat) which are widespread and not uncommon throughout the island. Other reptiles and amphibians are less frequently encountered but an observant naturalist can expect to see several species during the course of a visit, especially in early summer. Amongst lowland scrub, such as neglected olive groves, or on the sand dunes at Chrissi Ammoudi there is always a chance of seeing spur-thighed tortoise or of flushing the remarkable glass snake. This latter species is actually a legless lizard which grows up to 120 centimetres in length.

True snakes are regularly seen in old olive groves or in wild habitats (for example, amongst maquis and in the pine forests), but they quickly dash for cover and rarely give views good enough for identification. I see snakes almost daily during my visits but rarely for long enough to identify them - though presumably such fleeting glimpses are enough for experienced herpetologists. Although the Montpellier snake can bite if provoked, this is only likely if they are picked up and even then any swelling, stiffness or discomfort will pass in a few hours. This is not the case with the nose-horned viper, which is one of the most venomous snakes in Europe. It hisses loudly when disturbed and can become aggressive if provoked so it is wise to leave this species alone if accidentally encountered. These two species excepted, the remaining five snake species on Thásos are entirely harmless to man.

Montpellier's snake

Systematic accounts of the herptile fauna of Greece have been published for over a century (e.g. Werner 1938) and records for Thásos (and other Aegean islands) were summarised by Ondrias (1968) and Chondropoulos (1986, 1989). Following Yeomans’ (1990) account of the species seen during brief visits in 1989 and 1990, Clark (1993) collated the first review of the herpetofauna of Thásos. This paper was later updated and revised (Clark 1999), incorporating discussion of the previous species’ lists and correcting some earlier errors of identification. Clark (1999) regarded the Thásos fauna as comprising nineteen species, dismissing the record of the four-lined snake by Grüber (1979) and the records of Balkan wall lizard by Yeomans (1990) and others. My own observation of two full-grown four-lined snakes basking on an apartment wall at Makriammos in 1982 lend support to Grüber and suggest that the four-lined snake should be retained on the Thásos checklist. A distinct sub-species of the Balkan wall lizard, P. t. thasopulae (Kattinger), occurs on the islet of Thassopoula between Thásos and Keramoti. A further addition to the island fauna is the leopard snake, recorded from Kazaviti in 1994 by Dr T. Schultze-Westrum (pers. comm.). The presence of this species was confirmed in 1996 by Cattaneo (2001), who also confirmed Dahl's whip snake on Thásos (a species which had been reported by several previous authors but omitted by Clark). Cattaneo (2001) recorded eighteen species on the island in May 1997, providing the most thorough account of the herpetile fauna of Thásos published to date. He did not find 4 species which have been reliably recorded in the past so the island checklist contains 22 species (six amphibians and sixteen reptiles). 

A further three species (Erhard's wall lizard Podarcis erhardii,  common wall lizard P. muralis and eyed skink Chlacides ocellatus) have been reported in the literature (see Cattaneo 2001 for references) but are considered to represent erroneous identifications. Two more, the European pond terrapin Emys orbicularis and the cat snake Telescopus fallax, are named in supporting documentation for the Natura 2000 site Oros Ypsari (which also lists Podarcis muralis). I am not aware of any other reports of these species on the island but Clark (1999) draws attention to the possibility of the presence of Emys orbicularis on Thásos in view of the fact that it has recently been discovered on Samothraki.

Four species occurring on Thásos are included on Annex II of the EU Habitats & Species Directive - spur-thighed tortoise Testudo graeca, Balkan terrapin Mauremys rivulata (=caspica), four-lined snake Elaphe quatuorlineata and leopard snake Elaphe situla. Emys orbicularis is also an Annex II species.

All European species are beautifully illustrated in Arnold, Burton & Overton (1978). Unfortunately the identification of many species is not easy and it should be borne in mind that colour patterns are variable in many cases and that juvenile reptiles are often a different colour from the adults.

CHECKLIST

Common toad Bufo bufo (Daudin)

Green toad Bufo viridis Laurenti

Tree frog Hyla arborea (Linnaeus)

Agile frog Rana dalmatina (Bonaparte)

Stream frog Rana graeca Boulenger

Marsh frog Rana balcanica Sinsch & Sofianidou

Balkan terrapin Mauremys rivulata (Valenciennes)

Spur-thighed tortoise Testuda graeca (Linnaeus)

Turkish gecko Hemidactylus turcicus (Linnaeus)

Naked-fingered (or Kotschyi's) gecko Tenuidactylus kotschyi (Steindachner)

Slow worm Anguis fragilis Linnaeus

Glass snake (European glass lizard) Ophisaurus apodus (Pallas)

Green lizard Lacerta viridis (Laurenti)

Snake-eyed lizard Ophisops elegans (Berthold)

Worm snake Typhlops vermicularis Merem

Nose horned viper Vipera ammodytes (Linnaeus)

Large whip snake Coluber caspius (Gmelin)

Dahl's whip snake Coluber najadum (Eichwald)

Montpellier snake Malpolon monspessulanus (Hermann)

Four-lined snake Elaphe quatuorlineata (Lacépède)

Leopard snake Elaphe situla (Linnaeus)

Grass snake Natrix natrix (Linnaeus)

Common Tree-frog (© S. Watson)                                           Turkish gecko                              

REFERENCES

Arnold, E.N., Burton, J.A. & Overton, D.W. 1978. A field guide to the reptiles and amphibians of Britain and Europe. Collins, London.

Cattaneo, A. 2001. L'erpetofauna delle isole egee di Thassos, Samothraki e Lemnos. Boll. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Venezia, 52: 155-181.

Chondropoulos, B.P. 1986. A checklist of the Greek reptiles. 1. The lizards. Amphibia-Reptilia, 7: 217-235.

Chondropoulos, B.P. 1989. A checklist of the Greek reptiles. 2. The snakes. Herpetozoa, 2: 3-36.

Clark, R.J. 1993. The herpetofauna of the Greek island of Thassos. The Herptile, 18: 183-187.

Clark, R.J. 1999. Herpetofauna of Thassos, North Aegean Sea, Greece. British Herpetological Society Bulletin, 66:14-18.

Grüber, U. 1979. Patterns and relationships of Aegean snakes. Biologica Gallo-Hellenica, 8: 345-348. 

Ondrias, J.C. 1968. Liste des Amphibiens et des Reptiles de Gréce. Biologica Gallo-Hellenica, 1: 111-135.

Werner, F. 1938. Die Amphibien und Reptilien Griechenlands. Zoologica, 35: 1-117.

Yeomans, L. 1990. "Pouen ay efiri", or reptile spotting on Thassos. The Herptile, 15: 6-8.