Smooth Snake

Coronella austriaca Laurenti 1768

34. Coronella austriaca Laurenti, 1768 Coronella austriaca Laurenti, 1768 Taxonomic sources followed. Laurenti (1768), Bánki et al. (2026), Speybroeck et al. (2020), Tuniyev and Ananjeva (2024), Uetz et al. (2025). Records in Georgia. Nikolskii (1913), Muskhelishvili (1970), Bannikov et al. (1977), Iankoshvili and Tarkhnishvili (2021). Infraspecific variation. C. a. austriaca Laurenti, 1768 — nominotypical subspecies. Taxonomic remark. Biologically confirmed species. Smooth snakes from the Caucasus belong to the “ eastern clade ”, genetically closest to the snakes from Central Europe (Sztencel-Jablonka et al. 2015), but non-named to the present time. Barcoded individuals. CaBOL -IDs 1010917 (Atskvita), 1010918 (Gonio) (BOLD: ACH 8958), 1027414 (Jebota) (BOLD: AGJ 4778), similarity 97.43–99.52 %. The closest homologous sequences: C. austriaca (BOLD: ACH 8958; Georgia; similarity 97.36–100 %). C. austriaca (NCBI KC 997591; Georgia; similarity 97.39–99.52 %; KC 997589; Macedonia; similarity 94.8 %). Next closest taxon: Zamenis longissimus (NCBI MN 993251; Georgia; similarity 89.86 %).

An Annotated Checklist of the Amphibians and Reptiles of Georgia with DNA Barcoding Data and Taxonomic Remarks

materials_examined

1 ex.; Georgia, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Kazbegi, Kobi, lat: 42.55, long: 44.50, elev: 1970; 2018 - 04 - 19; (table Reptiles in the project region (Lot 1) • 1 ex.; Georgia, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Kazbegi, Kobi, lat: 42.55, long: 44.50, elev: 1970; 2018 - 05 - 08; (table Reptiles in the project region (Lot 1).

North-South Corridor (Kvesheti-Kobi) Road Project - APPENDIX Y OTHER ECOLOGICAL SURVEYS

Coronella austriaca Laurenti 1768

Coronella austriaca Laurenti, 1768 Number of records. Seven (0.7% of the data). Number of grid cells. Seven (2.3% of the entire grid; Table 1; Figs 6, 9C). Comments. This species is rare in the Mykolaiv Oblast. It was recently recorded from Kinburn Spit (Mykytynets et al. 2019). We confirmed the finding of an individual near Mykolaiv (Zaichevsk village) reported in iNaturalist (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/14612688). We found the snake in a steppe area with small shrubs (Fig. 10A). The data of Sillero et al. (2014) (36TUT3 and 36TVS1) reflect historic records of populations that are likely no longer present. In 1979, this species was recorded on rocky banks of the Southern Bug River in the areas of the South Ukrainian Nuclear Power Plant (Tsvelyh 1981), but recent surveys (Kotenko et al. 2008, this study) have failed to detect it despite intensive investigation.

The first comprehensive data on the distribution of reptiles within the Southern Bug eco-corridor, Ukraine