Citizen Science, taxonomy and grass snakes: iNaturalist helps to clarify variation of coloration and pattern in Natrix natrix subspecies

Uwe Fritz; Flora Ihlow

doi:10.3897/vz.72.e87426

Max Mühlenhaupt, Rosalie Hey, Michelle Starp, Nils Anthes, Paul Bachhausen, Thomas Bamann, Sabrina Bleidißel, Eike Bovensmann, Jürgen Braunsdorf, J. Maximilian Dehling, Saskia Ebert, Hannes Egle, Karolin Egle, Simeon Egle, Heidi Enderlein, Maximilian Fischer, Lara Gemeinhardt, Sean G. Grond, Ricarda D. Gundert, Oliver Krüger, Lorenz Laux, Pia Oswald, Xenia Schlindwein, Manuela Schmidt, Laura Schulte, Ronny Schwalbe, Theresa Stipp, Michael Veith, Frederik Wietbrok, Barbara A. Caspers (2025)
Citizen science data reveals widespread sexual dichromatism in the European fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra). BMC Ecology and Evolution 25: .

DOI: 10.1186/s12862-025-02461-0

Uwe Fritz, L. Lee Grismer, Marika Asztalos (2023)
Hybrid zones of Natrix helvetica and N. natrix: Phenotype data from iNaturalist and genetics reveal concordant clines and the value of species-diagnostic morphological traits. Vertebrate Zoology 73: 383.

DOI: 10.3897/vz.73.e103319

Matteo Riccardo Di Nicola, Andrea Vittorio Pozzi, Sergio Mezzadri, Francesco Paolo Faraone, Giorgio Russo, Jean Lou M. C. Dorne, Gianmarco Minuti (2023)
The Endangered Sardinian Grass Snake: Distribution Update, Bioclimatic Niche Modelling, Dorsal Pattern Characterisation, and Literature Review. Life 13: 1867.

DOI: 10.3390/life13091867

Petronel Spaseni, Tiberiu C. Sahlean, Iulian Gherghel, Ștefan R. Zamfirescu, Ionuț C. Petreanu, Raluca Melenciuc, Cristina F. Alistar, Viorel D. Gavril, Alexandru Strugariu (2024)
Natrix natrix after dark: citizen science sheds light on the common grass snake’s nightlife. PeerJ 12: e17168.

DOI: 10.7717/peerj.17168

Matteo Riccardo Di Nicola, Federico Storniolo, Anna Cerullo, Francesco Paolo Faraone (2024)
Barred, blotched or intermediate? A photographic-based survey on the spatial distribution of Vipera aspis phenotypes from central-southern Italy. Basic and Applied Herpetology : .

DOI: 10.11160/bah.288

Daniel Jablonski, Benny Trapp, Elias Tzoras, Konrad Mebert (2022)
Erythrism in the Eastern Grass Snake, Natrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758). Herpetozoa 35: 213.

DOI: 10.3897/herpetozoa.35.e90928

Alana K. Pizarro, Devon A. DeRaad, John E. McCormack (2023)
Temporal stability of the hybrid zone between Calocitta magpie‐jays revealed through comparison of museum specimens and iNaturalist photos. Ecology and Evolution 13: .

DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9863

Daniel Jablonski, Elias Tzoras, Alexios Panagiotopoulos, Marika Asztalos, Uwe Fritz (2023)
Genotyping the phenotypic diversity in Aegean Natrix natrix moreotica (Bedriaga, 1882) (Reptilia, Serpentes, Natricidae). ZooKeys 1169: 87.

DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1169.104594

Šimon Marko, Adam Rusinko, Martin Barka, Monika Balogová, Lucia Rubáčová, Petr Papežík (2025)
Snakes among citizens: distribution and ecology of the Aesculapian snake, Zamenis longissimus (Laurenti, 1768) in Bratislava revealed by citizen science. BMC Ecology and Evolution 25: .

DOI: 10.1186/s12862-025-02469-6

Matteo Riccardo Di Nicola, Marta Crevani, Ignazio Avella, Anna Cerullo, Jean-Lou C. M. Dorne, Giovanni Paolino, Caterina Zattera (2024)
A Guide to the Clinical Management of Vipera Snakebite in Italy. Toxins 16: 255.

DOI: 10.3390/toxins16060255

Alexander Eden (2023)
Ecosystem Explorers. The American Biology Teacher 85: 216.

DOI: 10.1525/abt.2023.85.4.216

Reinier van Buchem, Matthijs P. van den Burg, Patrick Meirmans (2025)
iNaturalist Observations Indicate Piebaldism in Iguana iguana Could Be a Regional Color Morph: Response to López and Mora (2025). Caribbean Journal of Science 55: .

DOI: 10.18475/cjos.v55i2.a28

Nadja Pernat, Susan Canavan, Marina Golivets, Jasmijn Hillaert, Yuval Itescu, Ivan Jarić, Hjalte M. R. Mann, Pavel Pipek, Cristina Preda, David M. Richardson, Heliana Teixeira, Ana Sofia Vaz, Quentin Groom (2024)
Overcoming biodiversity blindness: Secondary data in primary citizen science observations. Ecological Solutions and Evidence 5: .

DOI: 10.1002/2688-8319.12295

R. M. Rocha, F. Azevedo, U. Oliveira, M. N. M. Cardoso, P. H. B. Clerier, R. R. Fortes, E. A. P. Lopes-Filho, M. L. Lorini, L. S. Miranda, R. B. Moura, A. R. Senna, F. M. Silva, S. N. Stampar, V. Venekey (2024)
West Atlantic coastal marine biodiversity: the contribution of the platform iNaturalist. Aquatic Ecology 58: 57.

DOI: 10.1007/s10452-023-10062-6

Carlos J Pavón-Vázquez, Alison J Fitch, Paul Doughty, Stephen C Donnellan, J Scott Keogh, Rayna Bell (2025)
Integrating Genomics, Collections, and Community Science to Delimit Species Clarifies the Taxonomy of a Variable Monitor Lizard (Varanus tristis). Systematic Biology : .

DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syaf064

Napat Ratnarathorn, Nipit Sanunsilp, Panithi Laoungbua, Tanapong Tawan, Montri Sumontha, Chalita Kongrit, Phakhawat Thaweepworadej (2024)
Species richness, seasonality, and mortality of snakes in human-snake conflicts in Thailand: Insights from citizen science data. Biological Conservation 294: 110603.

DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110603

João Farminhão, André Carapeto (2024)
A new combination for a neglected member of Linaria subsect. Versicolores (Plantaginaceae, Antirrhineae) endemic to the Algarve, Portugal. PhytoKeys 243: 31.

DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.243.122788

Andrea Criado‐Flórez, Daniel Jablonski, Bartosz Borczyk, Stanisław Bury, Krzysztof Kolenda, Katarzyna Kurek, Sławomir Mitrus, Bartłomiej Najbar, Maciej Pabijan, Beata Prusak, Tomasz Skawiński, Bartłomiej Zając, Uwe Fritz (2026)
Phylogeography and Contact Zones of the Common Grass Snake in Poland (Squamata: Natricidae: Natrix natrix). Zoologica Scripta 55: 209.

DOI: 10.1111/zsc.70034

Petronel Spaseni, Iulian Gherghel, Tiberiu C. Sahlean, Ștefan R. Zamfirescu, Andreea V. Vicol, Alexandru Strugariu (2025)
Niche Differentiation and Spatial Segregation of Melanistic and Non‐Melanistic Colour Morphs in a Widespread Palearctic Reptile. Journal of Biogeography 52: .

DOI: 10.1111/jbi.15150