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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
Zamenis longissimus - Aesculapian rat snake
This species name comes from its slender body, and it translates into "the longest". This is because when people saw this snake it looked as if it had no end, because of the slender body, so they thought it was extremely large.
This snake is considered the symbol of pharmacology and medicine, as its common name suggests, "Aesculapian", from Aesculap's Rod . It is represented coiled around a Rod in every drug store and on every pharmacology book, magazine, etc, the rod and the snake being the symbols for medicine and pharmacology.
The Aesculapian rat snake is an arborial species, found in most European forests, except the northern, cold ones. It is quite a large species growing to about 2 meters in length.
As a juvenile its main diet consists of lizards, but as an adult it feeds on rodents. It is a constrictor, just like the four lined snake or the boas and pythons.Its juvenile coloration differs from that of an adult. The one in the picture is a juvenile. The adult coloration is more uniform, and spans from black to dark brown and even green individuals have been found.
Mating takes place in May and the female lays the eggs in June or July. The hatchlings can be found at the end of August or during September.
Getting back to the ancients, it is said that during hot summers the roman women used to catch Aesculapian snakes and four lined snake and put them around the neck to cool down.
It is a non-venomous snake that kills by constriction and it bites when caught. |
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Hello Tiberiu
I believe this shot could be much better by editing it more in photoshop and cropping it differently such as the snake was at the left and more space had been left at right. I could do a WS if i had the original photo.
G's
Ilias
- crs
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(681) - [2008-04-09 12:10]
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Buna Tiberiu,
Ai reusit o fotografie foarte buna cu acest sarpe. Detaliile privind coloritul sarpelui sunt foarte bune. Compozitia fotografiei cu creanga pe diagonala este de asemena buna.
Toate cele bune,
Cristian
A fine capture of an Aesculapean in good, natural posture from a low POV Tiberiu, the shadeless illumination enabled you to record the colour and scalation details perfectly. TFS indeed!
Mehmet
Salut!
Foarte tare poza. imi place tot la ea.
TFS,
Iulian
Hi Tiberiu
Nice capture of this beautiful Aesculapian Snake, good job.
TFS.
Nasit
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- Nilson
(2095)
- [2008-04-20 16:00]
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Exelente foto uma exelente qualidade muito bem fotografada gosto destes animais parabéns por esta magnifica foto.
NIlson
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