Reptiles and amphibians of northern Spain

Don't try this at home! Handling snakes is not advisable even if you know for certain that they are not venomous.

Smooth Snake (left) and Southern Smooth Snake (right). Seperated by the head and belly markings. Neither are venomous. However.........

Cantabrian Viper. We came across a spot where there were several of these in a small area. These are highly venomous and you wouldn't want to mistake one for a Smooth Snake. They are also easy to miss in the vegetation, and quite sluggish in the cloudy conditions which we had, so one misplaced step might have led to disaster!

Two of the more fascinating amphibians. The creature on the left is a Fire Salamander larva photographed in a pool in a small cave using the camera flash. On the right is a Common Tree Frog.

Little and large. On the left an Alpine Newt, whilst on the right a young Eyed Lizard. This was about 8 inches long. An adult can grow to up to 32 inches. It's a fairly common species in Spain, but mainly in the south, and is quite scarce in the north.

Common Wall Lizard (left) and Italian Wall Lizard (right).