Morphological characteristics of the populations of Coronella austriaca Laurenti, 1768 (Colubridae, Reptilia) on the northern border of its habitat in Russia

Abstract

Detailed morphological characteristics of the populations of Coronella austriaca on the northern border of its range, in the Vladimir and Nizhny Novgorod regions, are presented. L.corp. of males and females reaches 543 mm and 601 mm, respectively. Ventr. is 166–175 and 175–189, respectively, Scd. Is 50–59 and 32–56, Lab. left/right is usually 7/7 (89.7%), Sublab. is 9/9 (72.4%), respectively. A high incidence of asymmetry (44.4%) was noted for Temp. I and II rows; of 23 combinations, the most common is the symmetric one 2+3/2+3 (25.9%). L.corp./L.cd. limits overlap in 3.1% of underyearlings and yearlings, and in 1.8% of adults. Same-sex individuals statistically significantly differ in their meristic characteristics within the studied regions: the females from a locality near the Chucha river differ from the rest ones in Scd. and Sublab.left., males differ in Scd. and Ventr.+Scd.; males also significantly differ in their metric characteristics L.corp., L.cd., L.total.