Smooth Snake

Both sexes of C. austriaca grow to an average total length (including tail) of about 60 cm (24 in) to 75 cm (30 in). Two specimens measuring 83 cm (33 in) have been recorded in Sweden, as well as one in Russia that was 92 cm (36 in).

The head has a rostral scale that is at least as deep as it is wide, creating a triangular indentation between the internasal scales (rarely separating them). The top of the head is covered with nine large plates. The nasal scale is often divided. There is one (rarely two) preoculars and two postoculars. The temporals number 2+2 or 2+3 (rarely 1+2). There are seven (rarely eight) upper labials, of which the third and fourth or fourth and fifth border the eye.In the middle part of the body there are 19 (rarely 17 or 21) rows of dorsal scales. In contrast with many other snakes found in the region, these scales are flat (not keeled). This gives the snake a smooth texture to the touch, from which it gets its common name. The ventral scales number 150–164 in males and 162–200 in females. The anal scale is divided (rarely single) and the subcaudal scales are paired. Males have 54–70 subcaudal scales and females 40–76. The colour pattern consists of a brown, grey or reddish ground colour with two rows of small, rather indistinct dark spots running down the back towards the tail. …

Coronella austriaca is found from the south of England through France and the Low Countries to northern Spain and Portugal, Germany, Norway and Sweden (as far north as latitude 63°), Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and Sicily (but not in Corsica or Sardinia), the western Balkans and Greece, and European Russia as far north as latitude 57°. In Asia, it is found from Turkey to Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia and northern Iran. It is absent in Denmark despite the species being found just south of the German border as well as in southern Sweden. The species is only known from Denmark from 6 specimens, all found between 1870 and 1914. In Finland, the species is found only in Åland, and it is not common there.