| 1 | Ottoman viper |
A snake which is capable of eating scorpions, and has an aggressive attitude towards human interlopers. The Ottoman viper is one of Turkey’s most common venomous snakes, particularly in the western half. They also cross into extreme eastern Greece. Ottoman vipers (Montivipera xanthina) average at 70-95cm, with a maximum of 140cm.
This species has flexible habitats. In the wild, they inhabit rocky mountain steppes and Mediterranean shrubland, but they also appear in rural gardens and cultivated land like olive groves. Ottoman vipers have a flexible diet, relying heavily on rodents, supplemented with birds and lizards, and occasionally scorpions if the urge happens to strike.
Montivipera xanthina venom has a high LD50 toxicity score for a viper, ranging from 0.42 to 0.25mg in mice. By contrast, a cottonmouth achieves just 2.08mg, while a puff adder achieves 0.4-2.0mg. The lethal dosage in humans has been calculated at 40mg, but this is where Montivipera xanthina falls down, for their average yield per bite is unusually low at 10mg, which is low even for a snake measuring 80cm. This average was obtained from an enormous study involving 4446 Ottoman pitvipers. The maximum venom yield was just 18mg. Ottoman vipers have confirmed human deaths to their name, but not every month, or even every year.
| 2 | Ring-headed dwarf snake |
A small, shy snake which lurks under rocks and eats a diet of grasshoppers, beetles, locusts, and crickets. The ring-headed dwarf snake (Eirenis modestus) is a non-venomous species which is very easy to walk past and not notice.
This snake has a clear favourite habitat, appearing in sparsely vegetated land with small shrubs and plenty of rocks. Dry mountain steppe is a common spot, and very occasionally grasslands and woodlands. While southwest Turkey has the highest number of sightings, Eirenis modestus is found across virtually the entire country – if you can find them. At a maximum of just 70cm, with a thin pencil of a body, this species is an expert at going unseen. They tend to rest below rocks and eat any insect that strays past them.
The ring-headed dwarf snake has medium-sized eyes with round pupils, and smooth scales to touch (if you can get close enough). A couple of morphs exist: one with a plain olive colour and no patterns, and a second with small dark blotches on the upper body, which fade in the lower half. This snake occasionally eats reptiles as well, making up 2% of their diet in a 2007 study.
| 3 | Spotted whipsnake |
This moderately venomous snake lives in the eastern half of Turkey, in dry, arid realms. Across its range, it occupies relatively high altitudes of 1200 to 3600 metres. Spotted whipsnakes (Hemorrhois ravergieri) belong to the same family as Spain’s horseshoe whipsnake, and peak at 150cm. Rocky hillsides and steppe are perhaps the best place to meet a spotted whipsnake.
This Turkish snake has interesting patterns, as they begin as rounded dark blotches overlaying an olive base. As the tail approaches, the blotches gradually fuse until forming a single dark line. A 1976 report described two bites in Russia. The first victim was bitten on the right hand and experienced swelling which lasted for 72 hours, with local pain lasting for 10 days. The second experienced swelling within just 15 minutes, which rapidly spread to cover the entire hand and forearm.
In one strange tale, a female spotted whipsnake was prowling shifting sands on a dune, when it seized a toad-headed agama. While it feasted, a male spotted whipsnake slithered in, and eagerly coiled around the female. The female didn’t care, and continued to swallow the lizard for 10 minutes while the male was coiled around her, taking no notice whatsoever.
| 4 | Central Turkish mountain viper |
A venomous snake, but one you’re very unlikely to meet. In fact, scientists would probably turn up on your doorstep if you did. The Central Turkish mountain viper (Montivipera albizona) is extremely rare, with an estimated surviving population of less than 2500. It lives in high altitude mountain areas in central Turkey, at 1300-2200 metres, and is divided into northern and southern pockets, with further divisions inside these rugged realms. It’s estimated that no local population contains more than 250 individuals.
This species is distinguished from the other Montivipera members in Turkey by its spinal zigzag. This is extremely wide and rounded (see above), and has a reddish-orange colour. This zigzag was consistent and barely varied between 21 individuals caught, according to a 1994 study. Its tail is also shorter, accounting for 7.5-8.8% of its body length, versus 9.2-9.8% in the more common Ottoman viper.
This species was first discovered in 1990. Threats to its existence include livestock farming and ranching, mining and quarrying, and the planting of agricultural crops. Vipera albizona reaches a maximum of just below 78cm, and can be found on dry, rocky mountains slopes and fields. Rather than forests, they can be found in open slopes with plenty of thorny bushes, and plenty of sun exposure.
| 5 | Smooth snake |
A non-venomous snake which is identifiable by a black, butterfly shaped marking atop its head. Smooth snakes are extremely common in Eurasia, ranging from southern England to northwest Kazakhstan. Within Turkey, they’re abundant in almost the entire north, where they cause little grief for the human populations. The only risk is picking them up. Smooth snakes can be unpredictable, as one minute they’ll rest calmly in your hands, before exploding with aggression and biting painfully. Their bite can be firm and difficult to dislodge.
Smooth snakes tend to lurk in tangled undergrowth, hunting for lizards, their main prey. Their smoothness is related to this, preventing their scales from snagging on branches disastrously, perhaps the very second before leaping on their meal. Smooth snakes are neither enormous nor true constrictors, preferring to apply a couple of loose coils simply to hold their prey in place, before swallowing carefully.
In northern Turkey, smooth snakes range all the way from the west bordering Bulgaria to the east bordering Armenia. However, they’re completely missing from anywhere in the south. This species averages at 70cm long, maximum 92cm (recorded in Russia).
| 6 | Caucasian ratsnake |
A relative of Italy’s Aesculapian snake, but much shorter and harder to find. The Transcaucasian ratsnake (Zamenis hohenackeri) reaches a record of 85cm and is fairly dull in colour, with a grey base of scales. It lives far away from bustling Ankara and metro stations, as its favourite habitats are dry mountain hillsides, with an abundance of rocks and the occasional isolated tree. They also appear in spacious forests and river valleys, and near remote villages.
One of Zamenis hohenackeri’s features is its huge range of altitude. Across their range, they’ve been found from 100 to nearly 3000 metres. Away from Turkey, they’re found in Lebanon to the south, and Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northeast.
This is an extremely mysterious snake with little research conducted. Zamenis hohenackeri is apparently extremely difficult to keep in captivity, requiring careful year round control of temperatures. For example, this keeper recommends 4-5 months at 5-8C, to allow hibernation, probably to mimic conditions in their rocky steppe habitats. Transcaucasian ratsnakes are very rare in worldwide collections, and even in the wild, count yourself lucky to meet them.
| 7 | Narrow-striped dwarf snake |
A cousin of the ring-headed dwarf snake, this species is found mainly in southern Turkey, as well as Lebanon and Israel. Narrow-striped dwarf snakes are simple to distinguish due to their namesake stripe, which is dark overlaid on an olive base. As juveniles, they have two additional stripes on their flanks, which fade with age.
Rather than barren steppe, this species tends to appear in sparsely populated oak and pine forest. Manmade habitats they enjoy include rural gardens and orchards, but never concrete cities. Eirenis decemlineatus vanishes into holes and below rocks, hating to stray to open ground, as this species is completely defenceless. They move by day, but shelter during the hottest part of the day. Narrow striped dwarf snakes prey on crickets, centipedes, scorpions and grasshoppers. Their territory is so hot that they stay active during winter. This is a smooth and shiny snake rather than keeled and jagged.
At a maximum of 90cm, this southern Turkish species is the longest of the 23-member Eirenis group. This entire family is a large blind spot of research for snake experts.
| 8 | Red whipsnake |
Perhaps Turkey’s fastest snake. The red whipsnake (Platyceps collaris) can vanish over rock slabs and into adjacent shrubbery like a bullet being fired.
Red whipsnakes hug the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, making the south and southwest their main base, skipping the north and east. This might be the easiest Turkish snake to recognize as well. Red whipsnakes have a brick red body with a dense black neck collar, bordered by white. Their body has further black blotches (again bordered by white) which decrease in frequency before vanishing on the lower body. The Latin name references their black neck collar.
Red whipsnakes prefer Mediterranean landscapes such as plantations, rural gardens and pasture land. Their extreme speed is used for hunting, for outrunning escaping lizards and seizing them in their jaws. They swallow them not using a silencing venom, but by sheer determination. Their lack of restraint means that they occasionally end up as roadkill in Turkey. Red whipsnakes average at 70cm, but the longest two of all time measured 112.0cm and 111.9cm, and were found in Jerusalem, Israel.
| 9 | Ocellated mountain viper |
Perhaps the rarest snake in Turkey. The ocellated mountain viper (Montivipera wagneri) is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN.
This is essentially an eastern equivalent to the central Turkish mountain viper. Like its cousin, Montivipera wagneri prefers cooler rocky slopes, and cannot survive in scorched arid areas lower down. Hence, they exist only in mountain ranges at 1600 metres and higher, in eastern areas such as Kars and Mus provinces.
The ocellated mountain viper is believed to have declined by 80% in recent decades, due to collection by reptile enthusiasts and habitat destruction. A planned megadam in Turkey’ Aras river valley is forecast to decimate their existing range by 80%. The species was always rare, as it was believed to be extinct for 140 years before its rediscovery in 1983.
However, things may be slightly less dire than thought, as a survey whose results were published in 2020 discovered them in Tunceli Province for the first time, extending their range 250km westwards. Additionally, St Louis Zoo in Missouri managed to hatch 9 captive ocellated mountain vipers in 2013. Montivipera wagneri peaks at 95cm and is generally found in rocky grassland with plenty of sun exposure, and epic views of the valleys opposite.
| 10 | Red-bellied racer |
One of Turkey’s longest snakes, capable of reaching 250cm. This species likes to hang out in crumbling stone ruins, as well as dry hillsides and shrubby fields with plenty of rocks. A Turkish villager failing to tend his garden could result in a red-bellied racer taking residence in it.
This species averages at 140-160cm, and is found in central and eastern Turkey, skipping the civilized Mediterranean coast. Despite its brute size, the red-bellied racer defaults to fleeing if it feels slightly flustered. Combined with their liking for open hillsides, this makes them very difficult to get close to. They’re a naturally sparse species as well, which rarely has high populations in any region.
Red whipsnakes (Dolichophis schmidti) are fond of rats, as well as ground-nesting birds. While they prefer drier, rocky terrain, they avoid downright arid landscapes. This is an egg-lying species, pumping out batches of 7-12 in July or early August, which hatch from mid-September onwards. Red whipsnakes can reach 1900 metres above sea level, and further afield, they inhabit Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, and possibly Syria. Their exact territory has yet to be fully mapped out.