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Reproductive Traits and Hatchling Characteristics of the Endemic Sardinian Grass Snake (Natrix helvetica cetti): First Field Data, with Screening for Ophidiomyces ophidiicola
Ist Zooprofilatt Sperimentale Piemonte Liguria & V, Via Bologna 148, I-10154 Turin, Italy.;Univ Ghent, Fac Vet Med, Wildlife Hlth Ghent, Salisburylaan 133, B-9820 Merelbeke, Belgium..
Univ Parma, Dept Chem Life Sci & Environm Sustainabil, Parco Area Sci, I-43124 Parma, Italy..
Via Palmerio, I-29121 Piacenza, Italy..
Univ Turin, Dept Vet Sci, Largo Paolo Braccini 2, I-10095 Grugliasco, Italy..
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2025 (English)In: Animals, E-ISSN 2076-2615, Vol. 15, no 3, article id 418Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The Sardinian grass snake, Natrix helvetica cetti, is an island-endemic subspecies with a restricted and highly fragmented distribution confined to Sardinia, Italy. Information on its reproductive biology and wild offspring remain scarce in the scientific literature. This present study reports the first recorded data on a clutch of eggs laid by a wild melanistic female N. h. cetti that exhibited lethargy when observed basking, prompting a brief period of health monitoring and screening for the presence of the pathogenic fungus Ophidiomyces ophidiicola (Oo). The clutch yielded nine hatchlings, for which phenotypic data are provided and compared with existing information on the Natrix natrix complex. Both the adult female and its offspring tested negative in the Oo screening. The body size of the adult grass snake, specifically its snout-to-vent length of 48.3 cm, is the smallest ever recorded for a gravid female N. helvetica. This may indicate that maturity is reached at particularly small sizes, a distinctive trait of this intriguing island subspecies, suggesting the need for further investigation.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
MDPI, 2025. Vol. 15, no 3, article id 418
Keywords [en]
biometrics, body size, offspring, snake fungal disease, ophidiomycosis, Oo, Mediterranean, Natricidae, Sardinia, Italy
National Category
Zoology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-551602DOI: 10.3390/ani15030418ISI: 001418411400001PubMedID: 39943188Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85217575504OAI: oai:DiVA.org:uu-551602DiVA, id: diva2:1947376
Available from: 2025-03-25 Created: 2025-03-25 Last updated: 2025-03-25Bibliographically approved

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