Morphology and ecology of Balkan whip snake, Hierophis gemonensis (Laurenti, 1768)

Šara poljarica, Hierophis gemonensis, monotipska je vrsta zmije iz porodice guževa (lat. Colubridae). Naseljava suha kamenita staništa mediteranske klime od Slovenije, Hrvatske, BiH, Crne Gore, Albanije do zapadne i istočne Grčke, kao i mnoge otoke Jadranskog i Jonskog mora i Karpate Grčke. Cilj ovog rada je odrediti morfometrijske i merističke značajke šare poljarice te njenu točnu distribuciju u Hrvatskoj. U sklopu zadanog potrebno je utvrditi prisutnost spolnog dimorfizma te postoje li statistički značajne razlike u mjerama uzorka sačuvanih u etanolu i živih jedinki mjerenim tokom terenskih istraživanja. Istraživanje se vršilo na uzorku od 50 jedinki sačuvanih u 70%-tnom etanolu i 51 živih jedinki premjerenih tijekom terenskih istraživanja. Za svaku jedinku su zabilježena 3 meristička i 14 morfometrijskih obilježja. Spolni dimorfizam je potvrđen u merističkim i morfometrijskim značajkama.Balkan Whip snake, Hierophis gemonensis, is monotypic species of colubrid snakes (lat. Colubridae). It can be found in dry stony areas of mediteranian climate ranging from Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania and western and southern Greece, as well as many islands of Adriatic Sea and Ionian Sea and Karpathos of Greece. Our goal is to determine morphometrics and meristics of Balkan Whip snake, as well as its exact distribution in Croatia. Within given must be determinated presence of sexual dimorphism and if there are any significant differences between metric mesaurments of preserved material and live speciments. The study was carried out on 50 speciments preserved in 70% ethanol and 51 living specimens measured during field studies. Speciments were examined for 3 meristic and 14 morphometric characters. Females showed tendency to be smaller and lighter than males. Sexual dimorphism is confirmed in meristics and morphometrics