been for males and for females (Böhme 1993; Gomille 2002). Other distinctions, as in many snakes, include in males a relatively longer tail to total body length and a wider tail base. Scale arrangement includes 23 dorsal scale rows at midbody (rarely 19 or 21), 211-250 ventral scales, a divided anal scale, and 60-91 paired subcaudal scales (Schultz 1996; Arnold 2002). Ventral scales are sharply angled where the underside meets the side of the body, which enhances the species' climbing ability. Lifespan is estimated at 25 to 30 years. Geographic range The contiguous area of the previous nominotypical subspecies, Zamenis longissimus longissimus, which is now the only recognized monotypic form, covers most of France except in the north (up to about the latitude of Paris), the Spanish Pyrenees and the eastern side of the Spanish northern coast, Italy (except the south and Sicily), all of the Balkan peninsula down to Greece and Asia Minor and parts of Central and Eastern Europe up until about the 49th parallel in the eastern part of the range (Switzerland, Austria, South Moravia (Podyjí/Thayatal in Austria) in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, south Poland (mainly Bieszczady/Bukovec Mountains in Slovakia), Romania, south-west Ukraine). Further isolated populations have been identified in western Germany (Schlangenbad, Odenwald, lower Salzach, plus one - near Passau - connected to the contiguous distribution area) and the northwest of the Czech Republic (near Karlovy Vary, the northernmost known current natural presence of the species). Also found in a separate enclave south of Greater Caucasus along the Russian, Georgian and Turkish northeastern and eastern shores of the Black Sea. Two further enclaves include the first around Lake Urmia in northern Iran, and on the northern slopes of Mount Ararat in east Turkey, roughly halfway between the former and the Black Sea habitats. V.L. Laughlin hypothesized that parts of the species' geographical distribution may be the result of intentional placement and later release of these snakes by Romans from the temples of Asclepius, classical god of medicine, where they were important in the medical rituals and worship of the god. The previously recognised subspecies Zamenis longissimus romanus, found in southern Italy and Sicily, has been recently elevated to the status of a separate new species, Zamenis lineatus (Italian Aesculapian Snake). It is lighter in color, with a reddish-orange to glowing red iris. The populations previously classified as Elaphe longissima living in south-east Azerbaijan and northern