Wildlife
Smooth snakes are Britain's answer to the boa constrictor. Though harmless to humans, reptiles and small mammals have much to fear. Smooth snakes kill or subdue their meals by squeezing the life out of them before finally swallowing the unfortunate victim whole. They hibernate communally through the winter and, after emerging, the males fight for females. Rearing up, they push their opponents to the ground and coiling around each other until one gives up. They are incredibly rare in Britain being restricted to southern heathland, but widely distributed throughout Europe.
How to identify UK reptiles.
Scientific name: Coronella austriaca
Rank: Species
In order to see this content you need to have an up-to-date version of Flash installed and Javascript turned on.
Smooth and spotty
Smooth snakes will bite and can draw blood, but they have no venom.
Smooth snakes will bite and can draw blood, but they have no venom.
Species range provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
The Smooth snake can be found in a number of locations including: Asia, Europe, Mediterranean, Russia, United Kingdom. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.
The following habitats are found across the Smooth snake distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Coronella austriaca (commonly known as a smooth snake) is a harmless colubrid species found in northern and central Europe, but also as far east as northern Iran. The EMBL currently recognizes three subspecies, including the typical form described here.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the user-contributed encyclopedia. If you find the content in the 'About' section factually incorrect, defamatory or highly offensive you can edit this article at Wikipedia. For more information on our use of Wikipedia please read our FAQ.
BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
Ambush predator
Camouflage
Carnivorous
Hibernation
Moulting
Ovoviviparous
Active at birth