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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Common Grass Snake

Natrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758)

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Open encyclopedia reference

The grass snake (Natrix natrix), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian semi-aquatic non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians.

Wikipedia contributors, Grass snake; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:13:59.088872+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Natrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758)
Name authority
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Common name
Common Grass Snake
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Reptilia
Order
Squamata
Family
Colubridae
Genus
Natrix
Extinction status
Not supplied by this source

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
  9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
  10. suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
  11. infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
  12. familyColubridae
  13. subfamilyNatricinae
  14. genusNatrix
  15. speciesNatrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Natrix. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
Viperine Water SnakeNatrix maura (Linnaeus, 1758)ColubridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Red-eyed grass snakeNatrix astreptophora (Lopez-Seoane, 1885)ColubridaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied

Browse 1,632 records assigned to Colubridae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded nameSource status
Tropidonotus ater Eichwald, 1831 Eichwald, 1831ambiguous synonym
Natrix megalocephala Orlov & Tuniyev, 1987 Orlov & Tuniyev, 1987synonym
Natrix vulgaris Laurenti, 1768 Laurenti, 1768synonym
Coluber minutus Pallas, 1814 Pallas, 1814synonym
Tropidonotus natrix var. colchica Nordmann ex Demidoff, 1842 Nordmann ex Demidoff, 1842synonym
Coluber natrix var. dalmatina Schinz, 1833 Schinz, 1833synonym
Natrix natrix gotlandica Nilson & Andrén, 1981 Nilson & Andrén, 1981synonym
Natrix vibakari continentalis Nikolsky, 1925 Nikolsky, 1925synonym
Tropidonotus natrix bithynius Hecht, 1930 Hecht, 1930synonym
Tropidonotus natrix moreoticus Bedriaga, 1882 Bedriaga, 1882synonym
Tropidonotus natrix var. moreoticus Bedriaga, 1881 Bedriaga, 1881synonym
Tropidonotus natrix syriacus Hecht, 1930 Hecht, 1930synonym
Tropidonotus natrix britannicus Hecht, 1930 Hecht, 1930ambiguous synonym
Coluber torquatus Lacépède, 1789 Lacépède, 1789ambiguous synonym
Tropidonotus natrix var. picturata Jan, 1863 Jan, 1863synonym
Tropidonotus natrix var. bilineata Jan, 1864 Jan, 1864synonym
Coluber sparsus Schreiber, 1875 Schreiber, 1875ambiguous synonym
Tropidonotus natrix var. minax Fitzinger, 1832 Fitzinger, 1832synonym
Tropidonotus natrix var. nigra Nordmann ex Demidoff, 1842 Nordmann ex Demidoff, 1842synonym
Tropidonotus natrix var. subbilineata Jan, 1864 Jan, 1864synonym
Tropidonotus natrix var. murorum Fitzinger, 1832 Fitzinger, 1832synonym
Tropidonotus natrix var. lineata Ninni, 1880 Ninni, 1880synonym
Natrix natrix fusca Cattaneo, 1990 Cattaneo, 1990synonym
Natrix natrix schweizeri Müller, 1932 Müller, 1932synonym
Tropidonotus natrix bucharensis Hecht, 1930 Hecht, 1930synonym
Tropidonotus natrix cephallonicus Hecht, 1930 Hecht, 1930synonym
Tropidonotus natrix cypriacus Hecht, 1930 Hecht, 1930synonym
Tropidonotus natrix dystiensis Hecht, 1930 Hecht, 1930synonym
Tropidonotus natrix schirvanae Hecht, 1930 Hecht, 1930synonym
Tropidonotus natrix syrae Hecht, 1930 Hecht, 1930synonym
Coluber natrix Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758synonym
Coluber persa Pallas, 1814 Pallas, 1814synonym
Coluber scutatus Pallas, 1771 Pallas, 1771synonym

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Norway, Sweden, Finland, France (Corsica), Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Poland, Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia), Denmark, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Croatia (including some adriatic islands), Slovenia, Slovakia, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece (Limnos, Lesbos, Paros, Antiparos, Despotiko, Chios, Samos, Samothraki, Andros, Corfu, Milos: Kimolos, Karpathos), Cyprus,

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Natrix&species=natrix Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:745RJ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.