Herping Expedition to Corfu in Spring 2014
After giving several possible herping destinations a lot of thought, I ended up deciding to visit Corfu, one of the many Greek islands in the Mediterranean. Situated at the North East of Corfu lies the town Kassiopi, where we stayed for seven nights. Fortunately for me three friends also showed interest, and came along too. Kristian Settle-Whittaker, Chloe McLaughlin and George Hicks all study Zoology with Herpetology at Bangor University alongside myself.
It was a hectic yet thoroughly enjoyable 6 days of herping covering a distance of 87km around the NE of Corfu around Kassiopi.
Total species count was 24 out of the reported 32 species present in Corfu.
Snakes
Elaphe quatuorlineata, Four Lined Snake Hierophis gemonensis, Balkan Whip Snake Natrix natrix persa, Grass Snake Natrix tessellata, Dice Snake Platyceps najadum dahli, Dahls Whip Snake Telescopus fallax, European Cat Snake Typhlops vermicularis, European Worm Snake Zamenis longissimus, Aesculapian Snake (?) Zamenis situla, Leopard Snake Lizards Ablepharus kitaibelii, Snake Eyed Skink Algyroides nigropunctatus, Dalmatian Algyroides Anguis graeca, Greek Slow Worm Hemidactylus turcicus, Turkish (House) Gecko Lacerta trilineata, Balkan Green Lizard Lacerta viridis (or bilineata), Green Lizard Podarcis muralis, Common Wall Lizard (?) Pseudopus apodus, Glass Lizard |
Amphibians
Bufo spinosus, Spiny Toad Hyla arborea, Tree Frog (Heard them, but couldn't catch them) Pelophylax ridibundus, Marsh Frog Rana dalmatina, Agile Frog Chelonia Emys orbicularis, European Pond Terrapin Mauremys rivulata, Balkan Terrapin Testudo hermanni, Hermann's Tortoise (?) = Suspected species, but not positively identified. |