Herp trip to northern Spain and Andorra (16-19 july 2010)

Hi everybody! Rafael Vazquez Graña, Honorio Iglesias García and I made a trip 16-19 july 2010. Our idea was to find
the European herps Zamenis longissimus, Hierophis viridiflavus and Lacerta agilis. These species have a big
distribution area in Europe and another places but in Spain their presence is very restricted.

Rafael took holidays two days after than Honorio and I and he began his own expedition. He drove from Galicia
(where he lives) to Basque country (meeting point) and he found many interesting herps in Cantabria (Bufo calamita,
Podarcis sicula, …), Basque country (Chalcides striatus, Coronella girondica) and in Navarra (Vipera aspis). This isn´t
my trip but I´ve thought like Rafa found this just before meet with us it could be interesting to show you these
species!!!.

Photo 1. Bufo calamita by Rafael Váquez Graña.

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Photo 2. Podarcis sicula, male by Rafael Váquez Graña.

Photo 3. Podarcis sicula, female by Rafael Váquez Graña.

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Photo 4. Coronella girondica by Rafael Váquez Graña.

Photo 5. Vipera aspis aspis by Rafael Váquez Graña.

Friday 16 july at the evening Honorio and I drove from Madrid to the meeting point (Basque country) and when we
enter in Basque country we drove by secondary roads in direction to meeting point. In this small time we found two
Zamenis longissimus road killed and in one quick stop we found two Anguis fragilis.
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Photo 6. Habitat of Zamenis longissimus in Basque country.

Photo 7. Zamenis longissimus roadkilled.

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Photo 8. Anguis fragilis.

At 20:00 Rafa was in the meeting point and we meet with him. He told us he had received a call of a friend who lives
in Guipuzcoa called Ander. In the morning (incredible casuality!) Ander had received a call of a person of the sports
area of his village because a snake had entered in the sports installations and they were going to kill the snake if he
didn´t catch it, so Ander went to these installations and rescued a nice Zamenis. We meet with Ander and we took
photos of this pretty snake before it was released.

Photo 9. Zamenis longissimus, close-up.

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Photo 10. Zamenis longissimus.

Photo 11. Zamenis longissimus, close-up.

Photo 12. Zamenis longissimus, close-up.

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Photo 13. Zamenis longissimus.

When we finished the Zamenis photos session we drove to north of Navarra to sleep there and try to find endemic
Pyrenees herps. That night we found Salamandra salamandra fastuosa tadpoles, many Calotriton asper, many Rana
pyrenaica and many Bufo bufo..

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Photo 14. Habitat of Calotriton asper, Salamandra salamandra fastuosa, Rana pyrenaica and Bufo bufo.

Photo 15. Salamandra salamandra fastuosa, tadpole.

Photo 16. Calotriton asper, metamorfic.

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 Photo 17. Calotriton asper.

Photo 18. Calotriton asper, amplexus.

Photo 19. Bufo bufo with some trouble in the right eye.
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Photo 20. Rana pyrenaica, tadpole.

Photo 21. Rana pyrenaica, metamorfic.

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Photo 22. Rana pyrenaica, adult.

Saturday 17 july.

The next day, we woke up and drove to Huesca mountains. In the middle of the way we pass for Mediterranean
habitats and we could see a juvenile Rhinechis scalaris..

Photo 23. Mediterraean habitat in Huesca.

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Photo 24. Rhinechis scalaris, juvenile.

We took photographs of the ladder snake and we drove to a atlantic habitat in north Huesca mountains where Rafa
found a Hierophis some years before. We were looking for without successful. Honorio saw one Hierophis but this
specie is very quickly and it run to a closer rock wall. We could only found some Lacerta bilineata.

Photo 25. Hierophis viridiflavus and Lacerta bilineata habitat in north Huesca.
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Photo 26. Lacerta bilineata, by Honorio Iglesias García.

Later we drove to another Hierophis place in Huesca mountains. In this place we found many amphibians: Calotriton
asper, Salamandra salamandra, Rana temporaria, Pelophylax perezi, Alytes obstetricans, Bufo bufo and many
reptiles: Lacerta muralis, Natrix maura and a road killed Hierophis viridiflavus.

Photo 27. Habitat of Hierophis viridiflavus in Pyrinees.

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Photo 28. Calotriton asper, amplexus.

Photo 29. Calotriton asper, amplexus. Another point of view.

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Photo 30. Salamandra salamandra terrestris.

Photo 31. Another Salamandra salamandra terrestris.

Photo 32. Rana temporaria.

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Photo 33. Pelophylax perezi.

Photo 34. Alytes obstetricans (almogavarii?).

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 Photo 35. Bufo bufo.

Photo 36. Podarcis muralis.

Photo 37. Natrix maura.

Photo 38. Hierophis viridiflavus DOR.

Sunday 18 July.

We woke up in Huesca. Close to our camping Honorio found a Vipera aspis zinnikeri skin and we returned to look for
Hierophis there. Rafa found two Hierophis individuals and Honorio another one but they couldn´t catch it. So we lost
the hope to find Hierophis and we drove to Andorra to try to find Lacerta agilis. In the middle of the way, in Lleida,
we found a Coronella girondica road killed and we made a stop in this place. We saw many Pelophylax perezi, some
Podarcis hispanicus and under a left pot we found a Hierophis viridiflavus!!!!!! Even changing skin this snake was
wonderful!.

Photo 39. Lerida landscape.

Photo 40. Coronella girondica road killed.

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Photo 41. Hierophis viridiflavus.

Photo 42. Hierophis viridiflavus.

Photo 43. Hierophis viridiflavus, close-up.

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Photo 44. Hierophis viridiflavus, close-up.

After the photos we drove to Andorra. We visited a valley where Rafa had found Lacerta agilis in the past and we
found a couple of them, a Rana temporaria and another skin of Vipera aspis zinnikeri.

Photo 45. Habitat of Rana temporaria, Lacerta agilis and Vipera aspis zinnikeri in Andorra.
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Photo 46. Lacerta agilis female.

Photo 47. Lacerta agilis male.

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Photo 48. Lacerta agilis, male close-up.

Photo 49. Lacerta agilis, couple.

Photo 50. Rana temporaria.

Later we visited another valley and we tried to find vipers when the sun had disappeared but we only found two
Coronella autriaca under stones, one of them changing skin and another with a strange beautiful design ¿zinnikeri?.

Photo 51. Coronella austriaca.

Photo 52. Coronella austriaca.

We returned to Spain and visited at night the place where we catched the Hierophis because close of it there was a
point of water. We only found some Natrix maura and some Pelophylax perezi there.
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Photo 53. Pelophylax perezi.

Photo 54. Another Pelophylax perezi.

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Photo 55. Natrix maura.

Monday 19 July.

Next day we drove to north of Burgos and we meet with our friend Raul. The new team (Rafa, Honorio, Raul and me)
made some stops in some places where I found vipers last year. In the first stop we only found some Timon Lepidus,
some Chalcides striatus and many many rodents (Mus musculus, Apodemus sylvaticus, Microtus arvalis… a plague!)
but no vipers… Later we visited a point of water and Rafa saw an adult Natrix natrix astreptophora that disappeared
in the grass (he couldn´t catch it) and later in another small point of water we could see many amphibians (Alytes
obstetricans tadpoles, Salamandra salamandra tadpoles, Lissotriton helveticus and Ichthyosaura alpestris).
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Photo 56. Water point in north of Burgos. Habitat of Alytes obstetricans, Lissotriton helveticus, Ichthyosaura
alpestris, Lissotriton helveticus and Salamandra salamandra.

Photo 57. Alytes obstetricans obstetricans tadpole.

Photo 58. Salamandra salamandra bernardezi, tadpole.

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Photo 59. Ichthyosaura alpestris cyreni, tadpole.

Photo 60. Ichthyosaura alpestris cyreni.

Photo 61. Lissotriton helveticus by Honorio Iglesias García.

After eat we visited another places and we found Timon lepidus, Lacerta bilineata, Natrix maura and Raul found a
nice subadult Vipera seoanei..

Photo 62. North of Burgos landscape.

Photo 63. Timon lepidus.

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Photo 64. Natrix maura.

Photo 65. Vipera seoanei.

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Photo 66. Vipera seoanei.

Photo 67. Vipera seoanei, close-up by Honorio Iglesias García.

We get our principal targets but we missed Vipera aspis zinnikeri (we only found two skins), Zootoca vivipara in the
habitat of Lacerta agilis in Andorra and more vipers in Burgos. Anyway it´s a successful trip! September and October
will be dedicated to vipers!.
 List of species (25)

Ichthyosaura alpestris

Lissotriton helveticus

Calotriton asper

Salamandra salamandra

Pelophylax perezi

Rana pyrenaica

Rana temporaria

Bufo bufo

Alytes obstetricans

Chalcides striatus

Anguis fragilis

Podarcis hispanicus

Podarcis muralis

Lacerta agilis

Lacerta bilineata

Timon lepidus

Natrix maura

Natrix natrix

Rhinechis scalaris

Zamenis longissimus

Hierophis viridiflavus

Coronella girondica

Coronella austriaca

Vipera seoanei

Vipera aspis