Di Nicola Matteo Riccardo, Pozzi Andrea Vittorio, Mezzadri Sergio, Faraone Francesco Paolo, Russo Giorgio, Dorne Jean Lou M C, Minuti Gianmarco
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Pathobiology, Pharmacology and Zoological Medicine, Wildlife Health Ghent, Ghent University, 9820 Merelbeke, Belgium.
Unit of Dermatology and Cosmetology, IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital, Via Olgettina 60, 20132 Milan, Italy.
Life (Basel). 2023 Sep 4;13(9):1867. doi: 10.3390/life13091867.
The Sardinian grass snake, , 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 . 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 () and the urodeles as possible overlooked trophic resources ( spp. and ) 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 's decline and support effective conservation measures are discussed.
撒丁岛草蛇是一种濒危的特有蛇类亚种，其地理分布受限且高度碎片化。关于其生态和详细地理分布的信息匮乏，这可能对其保护状况产生负面影响。因此，本文对其分类学、形态学、生态学和保护进行了文献综述。此外，作者的实地记录、公民科学以及现有文献提供了一份更新后的地理分布情况，突出了其在13个新的和7个历史上的10×10千米网格单元中的存在。随后应用生物气候生态位建模来探索撒丁岛草蛇栖息地适宜性模式和表型变异。发现该物种的地理分布与海拔和降水量值呈正相关，而与温度呈负相关。综合来看，这些结果可能解释了这种蛇的存在，尤其是在撒丁岛东部。此外，分析与竞争物种蝰蛇以及可能被忽视的作为潜在营养资源的有尾目动物（真螈属物种和洞螈属物种）的分布重叠情况，结果显示重叠率分别为66%和79%。最后，地理或生物气候相关性并不能解释在这个高度多态的分类群中观察到的表型变异模式。本文还讨论了未来研究撒丁岛草蛇数量下降情况并支持有效保护措施的展望。
