Snakes & Lizards

Home › Animals › Reptiles

In Britain we have ten species of reptile living in the wild: four snakes (adder Vipera berus, grass snake Natrix helvetica, smooth snake Coronella austriaca, and Aesculapian snake Zamenis longissimus) and five lizards (viviparous lizard Zootoca vivipara, sand lizard Lacerta agilis, wall lizard Podarcis muralis, slowworm Anguis fragilis, and green lizard Lacerta bilineata) and one terrapin (red-eared terrapin or slider Trachemys scripta elegans).

Species

Aesculapian snake

Zamenis longissimus

Aesculapian snakes, a non-native species, were first reported in Britain's countryside during the early 1960s, but remain few in number & restricted in distribution.

Barred grass snake

Natrix helvetica

Britain's longest snake species, the barred grass snake is widely distributed in England and Wales, where it's frequently found in water hunting for amphibians.

Common lizard

Zootoca vivipara

The common/viviparous lizard is a short-legged reptile found throughout Britain and Ireland, barring the Canaries and some Scottish islands.

European adder

Vipera berus

Europe's most northerly-distributed snake and Britain's only venomous reptile, the snake with the zigzag along its back is instantly recognisable to many of us.

European slowworm

Anguis fragilis

A familiar legless lizard, common throughout Europe and frequently found in gardens.

Smooth snake

Coronella austriaca

Britain's rarest snake, the smooth snake is now restricted to a few pockets of sandy heathland in southern England.

Questions

What is hibernation?

Hibernation is more than a winter sleep. It's a complete physiological readjustment.

Bibliography

To see references, visit the bibliography for this class.