The snakes were captured, photographed, and immediately released, so no information on body length or sex is available. However, examination of their external morphology, facilitated by photographs, allowed for definitive identification. One individual of Platyceps najadum was observed on 15 May 2018 in Pustenik (42.149952, 21.282107), found in grass near the forest. Five individuals of Telescopus fallax (only one photographed) were observed on the same day in Kërvenik (42.109392, 21.255953), found under rocks in a dry, open, and stony area. One individual of Zamenis situla was observed on the same day in Kërvenik (42.111095, 21.256590), moving from the forest to a dry, open, and stony area.

Platyceps najadum is distributed across a relatively wide area, including much of the Balkans (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey) and other more distant regions (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Georgia, Iraq, Lebanon, Russia, and Turkmenistan). The zoogeographic gap in Kosovo is thus predictably closed. Telescopus fallax is a widespread species reported from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Malta, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, Syria, and Turkey. Given its distribution throughout the countries bordering the Republic of Kosovo, its presence in the country is not surprising. Zamenis situla is present in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Like T. fallax, its presence in the Republic of Kosovo is not surprising, as it occurs in all neighboring countries.

Before these observations, the reptiles of the Republic of Kosovo included 22 species: eight snakes, eleven lizards, and three tortoises. Hitherto, only three snakes known to induce dangerous envenomation in humans had been recorded in the Republic of Kosovo, all being viperids: Vipera ammodytes (widespread), Vipera berus (localized), and Vipera ursinii (very localized). With the three new colubrid records, snakes now constitute the largest reptile suborder in Kosovo, with colubrids making up the majority (eight taxa).

Our understanding of what constitutes a venomous snake, particularly in colubrids—the vast majority of which were historically considered non-venomous—has been revolutionized in recent years, and there has been comprehensive critique of case reports of colubrid envenomations in humans (Weinstein et al. 2022). All three colubrid genera involved have had putative human envenomations recorded in the literature from other countries, but the evidence in these case studies is questionable, and there is no evidence that they are dangerously venomous.

The recently observed Telescopus fallax is a mildly venomous snake, with the only scientifically recorded bite (Sultanov 1966)—from the subspecies Telescopus fallax iberus (Eichwald, 1831)—producing only local effects, likely aggravated by contraindicated medical procedures. Contrary to one published case report (Chroni et al. 2005) that claimed a protracted fatality from Platyceps najadum, this species is unlikely to be capable of life-threatening bites, and many other conditions are more likely to have caused the patient’s death. No bites from Zamenis situla have been recorded, and the genus lacks a Duvernoy’s gland. The report of a supposed anaphylaxis following a suspected bite from the related species Zamenis longissimus in Serbia by Ninić-Marinković (2015) was considered “insufficient for evidence-based analysis” by Weinstein et al. (2022: 367). Therefore, none of the newly reported species changes the number of snakes in the Republic of Kosovo known to be dangerously venomous to humans.

With only 25 recorded species, the Republic of Kosovo has a lower total of reptile species than its neighboring countries (Albania: 41; Montenegro: 40; North Macedonia: 34; Serbia: 27), but the authors suspect that further field research may reveal more species in the country that are known to occur in one or more of these neighboring countries. Four species very likely to occur in the Republic of Kosovo are: Lacerta trilineata (Bedriaga, 1886), recorded from the southern border of Serbia, a very short distance from the eastern border of the Republic of Kosovo; Elaphe quatuorlineata (Lacépède, 1789), reported from southeastern Serbia, east of the border of the Republic of Kosovo; Xerotyphlops vermicularis (Merrem, 1820), for which the distribution range includes northern North Macedonia, not far from the southern border of the Republic of Kosovo; and Mauremys rivulata (Valenciennes, 1833), which has a distribution that includes an area along the border of northern North Macedonia and southern Republic of Kosovo.

The observations were made during fieldwork focused on invertebrates, underscoring how opportunistic encounters can fill significant gaps in a country’s faunal inventory. The authors note that the zoogeographic gap in Kosovo for Platyceps najadum was predictably closed, given its presence in all surrounding Balkan countries, and that the presence of Telescopus fallax and Zamenis situla in Kosovo was not surprising, as both occur in all neighboring countries. The findings suggest that Kosovo’s reptile fauna remains under-sampled relative to its neighbors, and that targeted field research may reveal additional species in the years ahead.

Subject of Research: First country records of three colubrid snake species in the Republic of Kosovo

Article Title: Three new country records of colubrid snakes ( Squamata , Colubridae ) for the Republic of Kosovo

Article References: Grapci-Kotori, L., Geci, D., Ibrahimi, H., Bilalli, A., Musliu, M., & Sherwood, D. (2025). Three new country records of colubrid snakes (Squamata, Colubridae) for the Republic of Kosovo. Herpetozoa, 38, 241-244. https://doi.org/10.3897/herpetozoa.38.e162384

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/herpetozoa.38.e162384

Keywords: herpetology, snakes, Kosovo, Colubridae, biodiversity, Three, country, records, colubrid, Squamata, Republic, scientific research