European Ratsnake

European Ratsnake
ヒョウモンナメラ
Character Data
AKA		Leopard snake
Romaji		Hyoumon'namera
Debut		Kemono Friends (2015 Game)
Animal Data
Scientific Name		Zamenis situla
Distribution		Europe, Asia
Diet		Carnivore
Avg. Lifespan		10-15 years
Read More		European ratsnake
Conservation

European Ratsnake

Nexon Game

The European Ratsnake is a type of snake Friend that appeared in the original Kemono Friends mobile game.

Appearance

European Ratsnake has long green hair which is twisted into a large, loose coil. Her side-bangs are neat, sharp, and chin-length; her front bangs sweep to the right and are accented by a black wick, which pokes out from under the brim of her cap—the design of which resembles a snake's head— so as to evoke the forked tongue of her snake species. She has pale skin and crimson eyes, and sports a long, gray-green green snake tail with a paler green belly; notably, the iconic reddish-brown blotches of the European ratsnake species are absent.

European Ratsnake wears a gray-green blazer sporting reddish-brown blotches outlined in grey, akin to those found along a European ratsnake's spine, running down the sleeves. She wears a black blouse underneath, with a low, frilled collar leaving her collarbone exposed. The garments are accented by a red necktie with a scale pattern and a black dress-shirt collar which appears to be worn on its own, disconnected from the other garments and held in place by her tie. She wears black short-shorts, gray-green thigh-highs with pale red tasks, and black ballerina-style flats.

Her hips are adorned with two cross-crossing black belts, one of which supports a holster for a crimson-red whip with a black handle. As mentioned previously, she has a grey-green flat cap with bright red-and-white false eyes on the top, and an array of black and red patterns much like those found on the real-world snake.

Series Appearances

Appearances In Kemono Friends Media

Media		Role
2015	Nexon Game	↪ Minor character, obtainable

In Real Life

Zamenis situla (European ratsnake)

The European ratsnake (Zamenis situla) is a non-venomous species of colubrid snake found across the south of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, and Montenegro, the west of Turkey, and almost all of Greece, concentrating around the major bodies of water in those regions: the Adriatic Sea, Aegean Sea, Black Sea, Sea of Crete, Ionian Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Mirtonian Sea, and Gulf of Taranto. Highly adaptable, the European ratsnake can be found in a variety of habitats including fields, marshes, rocky scree, scrub and brush, stream banks, and rural human developments such as gardens, vineyards, and villages. Its range spans from sea level to altitudes of 1600 m, though some papers suggest it is most common below 500 m.

Zamenis situla is a slender species with a narrow head, distinguished from the body by a well-marked neck. It has large, reddish-brown eyes with round pupils. The body of the European ratsnake can be shades of beige, gray, brown, bronze, silver, or tan, and a stripe of reddish to reddish-brown blotches runs down its spine; it is this pattern that gives the European ratsnake the additional common name of "leopard snake". Specimens rarely exceed 100 cm, although lengths of up to 115 cm have been documented; generally, females are larger than males.

As the European ratsnake is a species of crepuscular and diurnal habits, it is common to see them climbing on rocks, walls or bushes to escape hot soil during the heat of the day. The species has a well-defined nycthemeral rhythm: a siesta in the morning sun, a rest in the shade from noon into the early afternoon, and in the late afternoon through to dusk the snake becomes most active. In particularly warm areas, these snakes spend the months of July and August away from the scorching summer heat, remaining in the shade as much as possible. It is not unusual to find the European ratsnake in or beneath homes and barns, but it may become especially common during these times as the animals seek to beat the heat.

The diet of the European ratsnake consists primarily of small mammals, lizards and birds—particularly the chicks and eggs of bee-eaters, which it captures by entering the tunnels that these birds dig for nests. According to some authors, the snake will also eat insects, snails, and young snakes. In order to hunt, the European ratsnake slowly approaches its prey until it enters striking distance, coiling into an S-shaped position before lunging with its mouth open. Small or immobile prey items can be swallowed whole, but larger targets may demand the use of constriction, as is seen in some other colubrids, including fellow Zamenis species.

Trivia

Zamenis situla (European ratsnake)

• This species has long fascinated snake breeders, and its commonplace Mediterranean distribution means several civilizations in that region have a history with the animal.
  • Like its relative the Aesculapian snake (Zamenis longissimus), the European ratsnake was venerated and raised in temples dedicated to Asclepius in Greece and to Aesculapius by the Romans, for it symbolized health and beauty.
  • The first publication on European ratsnake breeding dates back to 1884.
• The longest recorded length for a male European ratsnake was a 125 cm specimen, collected from the island of Milos.

References

1. "Zamenis situla". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

2. Stevens, Kevin. "The European ratsnakes of the genus Elaphe." British Herpetological Society Bulletin No. 59, 1995, 10. [Available as a PDF.] Accessed May 4, 2024.