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  • Matteo Ricardo Di Nicola
    San Raffaele Hospitall, Milano
  • Andrea Pozzi
  • Sergio Mezzadri
  • Francesco Paolo Faraone
    Università di Palermo
  • Giorgio Russo
    VIB-VUB Center for Structural Biology
  • Jean Lou C. M. Dorne
    European Food Safety Authority, Parma.
  • Gianmarco Minuti
    Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Sardinian grass snake, Natrix helvetica cetti, is an endangered endemic snake subspecies with a restricted and highly fragmented geographic distribution. Information on its ecology and detailed geographic distribution are scarce and may negatively impact on its conservation status. Therefore, a literature review on its taxonomy, morphology, ecology, and conservation is presented here. Moreover, field records from the authors, citizen science and the existing literature provide an updated geographic distribution highlighting its presence within 13 new and 7 historic 10 × 10 km cells. Bioclimatic niche modelling was then applied to explore patterns of habitat suitability and phenotypic variation within N. h. cetti. The geographic distribution of the species was found to be positively correlated with altitude and precipitation values, whereas temperature showed a negative correlation. Taken together, these outcomes may explain the snake’s presence, particularly in eastern Sardinia. In addition, analysis of distribution overlap with the competing viperine snake (N. maura) and the urodeles as possible overlooked trophic resources (Speleomantes spp. and Euproctus platycephalus) showed overlaps of 66% and 79%, respectively. Finally, geographical or bioclimatic correlations did not explain phenotypic variation patterns observed in this highly polymorphic taxon. Perspectives on future research to investigate N. h. cetti’s decline and support effective conservation measures are discussed.
Original languageEnglish
JournalLife
Publication statusPublished - 4 Sept 2023

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