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Natrix
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<h2 id="species">Species</h2> <p>The genus <i>Natrix</i> contains five extant species<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> and at least five extinct (<a href="/facts/Fossil/by7NzIA1">fossil</a>-only) species. </p> <table><tbody><tr><th>Image</th><th>Scientific name</th><th>Common name</th><th>Distribution</th></tr><tr><td></td><td><i><a href="/facts/Natrix_astreptophora/xdgtlCw8">Natrix astreptophora</a></i> (Seoane, 1885)</td><td>Iberian grass snake<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a></td><td>Iberian peninsula (Spain and Portugal), southern France, coastal north-west Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia)</td></tr><tr><td></td><td><i><a href="/facts/Barred_grass_snake/6dUUQeqq">Natrix helvetica</a></i> (<a href="/facts/Bernard_Germain_de_Lac%25C3%25A9p%25C3%25A8de/3G5EEL32">Lacépède</a>, 1789)</td><td>barred grass snake<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a></td><td>Western Europe, including southern Great Britain</td></tr><tr><td></td><td><i><a href="/facts/Natrix_maura/FWszyGNR">Natrix maura</a></i> (<a href="/facts/Carl_Linnaeus/gy5HWkHS">Linnaeus</a>, 1758)</td><td>viperine water snake<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></td><td>Portugal, Spain, France, north-west Italy and into Switzerland; north-west Africa (Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia)</td></tr><tr><td></td><td><i><a href="/facts/Grass_snake/bQRuf9WQ">Natrix natrix</a></i> (Linnaeus, 1758)</td><td>grass snake<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></td><td>Mainland Europe from mid Scandinavia to southern Italy, to northern Middle East and Central Asia</td></tr><tr><td></td><td><i><a href="/facts/Dice_snake/3qW5xwve">Natrix tessellata</a></i> (<a href="/facts/Josephus_Nicolaus_Laurenti/AgfkksJn">Laurenti</a>, 1768)</td><td>dice snake<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a></td><td>Much of Eurasia, and Egypt</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>†<i>Natrix longivertebrata</i> (Szyndlar, 1984)</td><td>extinct species (<a href="/facts/Pliocene/MjcIVQ86">Pliocene</a>, <a href="/facts/Miocene/cBRRzq4g">Miocene</a>)</td><td>Poland, Austria, France<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>†<i>Natrix merkurensis</i> Ivanov, 2002</td><td>extinct species (Miocene)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a></td><td>Czech Republic, France<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>†<i>Natrix mlynarskii</i> Rage, 1988</td><td>extinct species (<a href="/facts/Eocene/EYgI8Uco">Eocene</a>–Miocene)</td><td>France<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>†<i>Natrix parva</i> Szyndlar, 1984</td><td>extinct species (Miocene)</td><td>Poland<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a></td></tr><tr><td></td><td>†<i>Natrix sansaniensis</i> (<a href="/facts/%25C3%2589douard_Lartet/PHWYGBVe">Lartet</a>, 1851)</td><td>extinct species (Miocene)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a></td><td>Czech Republic, France</td></tr></tbody></table> <p><i><a href="/facts/Nota_bene/q7trSJUH">Nota bene</a></i>: A <a href="/facts/Binomial_nomenclature/jgBqAhPv">binomial authority</a> in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than <i>Natrix</i>. </p> <h2 id="etymology">Etymology</h2> <p><i>Natrix</i> is classical <a href="/facts/Latin/pM3Kge85">Latin</a> for a water snake. The word comes from a <a href="/facts/Proto-Indo-European/cVLNoM3p">Proto-Indo-European</a> root meaning "snake", with cognates in the <a href="/facts/Celtic_languages/edRrGrMF">Celtic</a> and <a href="/facts/Germanic_language/BxAJX3Kf">Germanic languages</a>, the latter including the English adder. It was probably influenced through <a href="/facts/Folk_etymology/vgVL6xdX">folk etymology</a> by the Latin <i>nare</i> and <i>natare</i> meaning "swim";<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> it appears to be a grammatically feminine word for "swimmer". </p> <h2 id="geography">Geography</h2> <p>The refuge of a widely distributed Western European lineage regarding the <a href="/facts/Barred_grass_snake/6dUUQeqq">barred grass snake</a> commonly known as <i>Natrix helvetica </i>was most likely located in southern France and outside the classical refuges in the southern European peninsulas. One genetic lineage of the <a href="/facts/Grass_snake/bQRuf9WQ">common grass snake</a> (<i>N. natrix</i>) is also distributed in Scandinavia, Central Europe, and the Balkan Peninsula.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Josephus_Nicolaus_Laurenti/AgfkksJn">Laurenti JN</a> (1768). <i>Specimen medicum, exhibens synopsin reptilium emendatam cum experimentis circa venena et antidota reptilium austriacorum</i>. Vienna: "Joan. Thom. Nob. de Trattnern". 214 pp. + Plates I-V. (<i>Natrix</i>, new genus, p. 73). (in Latin).</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Genus Natrix at The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org. <a href="http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/advanced_search?genus=Natrix&exact=genus&submit=Search" target="_blank">http://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/advanced_search?genus=Natrix&exact=genus&submit=Search</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>de Lazaro, Enrico (February 23, 2016). "Iberian Grass Snake: Cryptic New Species of Snake Identified". Sci-News.com. <a href="http://www.sci-news.com/biology/iberian-grass-snake-natrix-astreptophora-cryptic-new-species-03650.html" target="_blank">http://www.sci-news.com/biology/iberian-grass-snake-natrix-astreptophora-cryptic-new-species-03650.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"New snake species identified in the UK". BBC News. 7 August 2017. <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40853286" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-40853286</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Natrix Laurenti, 1768". Encyclopedia of Life. http://eol.org/pages/35261/overview <a href="http://eol.org/pages/35261/overview" target="_blank">http://eol.org/pages/35261/overview</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Natrix Laurenti, 1768". Encyclopedia of Life. http://eol.org/pages/35261/overview <a href="http://eol.org/pages/35261/overview" target="_blank">http://eol.org/pages/35261/overview</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Natrix Laurenti, 1768". Encyclopedia of Life. http://eol.org/pages/35261/overview <a href="http://eol.org/pages/35261/overview" target="_blank">http://eol.org/pages/35261/overview</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Rage, JC; Szyndlar, Z (1986). "Natrix longivertebrata from the European Neogene, a snake with one of the longest known stratigraphic ranges". N. Jb. Geol. Palaonth. Mh. 1986 (1). Stuttgart: 56–64. Retrieved 15 September 2022. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281589987" target="_blank">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281589987</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Ivanov, Martin (2002). "The oldest known Miocene snake fauna from Central Europe: Merkur-North locality, Czech Republic". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 47 (3): 513–534. Retrieved 16 September 2022. <a href="https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app47-513.html" target="_blank">https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app47-513.html</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"†Natrix merkurensis Ivanov 2002 (water snake)". Fossilworks. n.d. Retrieved 16 September 2022. <a href="https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=251199" target="_blank">https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=251199</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"†Natrix mlynarskii Rage 1988 (water snake)". Fossilworks. n.d. Retrieved 16 September 2022. <a href="https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=346184" target="_blank">https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=346184</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"†Natrix parva Szyndlar 1984 (water snake)". Fossilworks. n.d. Retrieved 16 September 2022. <a href="https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=64954" target="_blank">https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=64954</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Ivanov, Martin (2002). "The oldest known Miocene snake fauna from Central Europe: Merkur-North locality, Czech Republic". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 47 (3): 513–534. Retrieved 16 September 2022. <a href="https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app47-513.html" target="_blank">https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app47-513.html</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"adder, n.1". OED Online. Oxford University Press. March 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019. <a href="http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/2166?rskey=HXKdWQ&result=1&isAdvanced=false" target="_blank">http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/2166?rskey=HXKdWQ&result=1&isAdvanced=false</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>"adder". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 6 May 2019. <a href="https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=adder" target="_blank">https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=adder</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Kindler, Carolin; Graciá, Eva; Fritz, Uwe (29 January 2018). "Extra-Mediterranean glacial refuges in barred and common grass snakes (Natrix helvetica , N. natrix)". Scientific Reports. 8 (1): 1821. Bibcode:2018NatSR...8.1821K. doi:10.1038/s41598-018-20218-2. PMC 5788984. PMID 29379101. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5788984" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5788984</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>