CreatureData

Dark green snake

Hierophis viridiflavus (Lacépède, 1789)

Status not recordedsnakes

The dark green snake (Hierophis viridiflavus) is a species in the family Colubridae, order Squamata. Recorded adults weigh about 1.31 kg.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the dark green snake

Weight
1.31 kgsrc for Weight
Length
up to 1.6 msrc for Length
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
33 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
49 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
5 – 20src for Young per litter or clutch
Reproduction
Eggssrc for Reproduction
Active
By day (diurnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Brain mass
209 mg (0.095% of body mass)src for Brain mass
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

What does the dark green snake eat, and what eats it?

Species recorded in published studies and collections.

Recorded prey of the dark green snake

The 24 best supported of 199 on record

  1. Common wall lizard Podarcis muralis23 sources
  2. Western green lizard Lacerta bilineata22 sources
  3. Italian wall lizard Podarcis siculus14 sources
  4. Ocellated skink Chalcides ocellatus4 sources
  5. Bank vole Myodes glareolus4 sources
  6. Corn bunting Emberiza calandra4 sources
  7. Eurasian magpie Pica pica4 sources
  8. Common frog Rana temporaria4 sources
  9. Dice snake Natrix tessellata4 sources
  10. Marsh frog Pelophylax ridibundus3 sources
  11. Common redpoll Acanthis flammea3 sources
  12. Paddyfield warbler Acrocephalus agricola3 sources
Show 12 more
  1. Great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus3 sources
  2. Blyth's reed warbler Acrocephalus dumetorum3 sources
  3. Moustached warbler Acrocephalus melanopogon3 sources
  4. Aquatic warbler Acrocephalus paludicola3 sources
  5. Marsh warbler Acrocephalus palustris3 sources
  6. Sedge warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus3 sources
  7. Common reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus3 sources
  8. Eurasian skylark Alauda arvensis3 sources
  9. Tawny pipit Anthus campestris3 sources
  10. Red-throated pipit Anthus cervinus3 sources
  11. Olive-backed pipit Anthus hodgsoni3 sources
  12. Meadow pipit Anthus pratensis3 sources

Recorded predators of the dark green snake

The 24 best supported of 30 on record

  1. Eurasian magpie Pica pica5 sources
  2. Cat Felis catus6 sources
  3. White stork Ciconia ciconia3 sources
  4. Black stork Ciconia nigra3 sources
  5. Short-toed snake eagle Circaetus gallicus3 sources
  6. European wildcat Felis silvestris3 sources
  7. Common genet Genetta genetta3 sources
  8. European badger Meles meles3 sources
  9. Stoat Mustela erminea3 sources
  10. Red fox Vulpes vulpes3 sources
  11. Beech marten Martes foina3 sources
  12. Golden jackal Canis aureus3 sources
Show 12 more
  1. Wolf Canis lupus3 sources
  2. Eurasian otter Lutra lutra3 sources
  3. African houbara Chlamydotis undulata3 sources
  4. European roller Coracias garrulus3 sources
  5. Southern smooth snake Coronella girondica3 sources
  6. Common raven Corvus corax3 sources
  7. Carrion crow Corvus corone3 sources
  8. European hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus3 sources
  9. Common kestrel Falco tinnunculus3 sources
  10. Common crane Grus grus3 sources
  11. Western green lizard Lacerta bilineata3 sources
  12. Great grey shrike Lanius excubitor3 sources

Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).

References for these records

Where does the dark green snake live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the dark green snake as introduced in 1 country.

  1. Belgium

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the dark green snake endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the dark green snake classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classReptilia
  4. orderSquamata
  5. familyColubridae
  6. genusHierophis
  7. SpeciesHierophis viridiflavus (Lacépède, 1789)

Synonyms Coluber atro-virens, Coluber gemonensis gyarosensis, Coluber gemonensis var. viridiflavus, Coluber gyarosensis, Coluber personatus, Coluber viridiflavus, Coluber viridiflavus antoniimanujeli, Coluber viridiflavus kratzeri, Haemorrhois viridiflavus, Hierophis gyarosensis, Zamenis viridiflavus

Other names and names in other languages (28)
  • Green whip snakeEnglish
  • Western whip snakeEnglish
  • Cullebra amariellaAragonese
  • culiebra verde y mariellaAsturian
  • Serp verd-i-grogaCatalan
  • Serp verda i grogaCatalan
  • štíhlovka žlutozelenáCzech
  • Gulgrøn pilsnogDanish
  • Gelbgrüne ZornnatterGerman
  • Schwarze Zornnatter [carbonarius]German
  • Μαύρο Φίδι της ΓυάρουGreek
  • Culebra VerdiamarillaSpanish
  • Suge berde-horiBasque
  • PiiskakäärmeFinnish
  • Couleuvre verte et jauneFrench
  • Couleuvre verte et jaune (La)French
  • crna poljarica [carbonarius]Croatian
  • Crna poljaricaCroatian
  • Crni gadCroatian
  • sárgászöld haragossiklóHungarian
  • biaccoItalian
  • Colubro verde e gialloItalian
  • MilordoItalian
  • Geelgroene ToornslangDutch
  • Cobra-chicote-do-oestePortuguese
  • Жёлто-зелёный полозRussian
  • ČrnicaSlovenian
  • Gulgrön pisksnokSwedish

Catalogue of LifeiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMS

Relatives of the dark green snake

Other species in the same genus Hierophis.

Balkan racer

Hierophis gemonensis

ColubridaeNo free photo yet

CompareDark green snake vs Balkan racerDark green snake vs Cyprus whip snake

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the dark green snake?

An adult dark green snake weighs 1.31 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the dark green snake an invasive species?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the dark green snake as introduced in 1 country: Belgium, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.

What kind of animal is the dark green snake?

The dark green snake (Hierophis viridiflavus) belongs to the family Colubridae in the order Squamata.

What eats the dark green snake?

Animals recorded preying on the dark green snake include eurasian magpie, cat, white stork and black stork. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

Which animals does the dark green snake eat?

Animals recorded as prey of the dark green snake include common wall lizard, western green lizard, italian wall lizard and ocellated skink. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Dark green snake (Hierophis viridiflavus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/dark-green-snake

MLA

“Dark green snake (Hierophis viridiflavus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/dark-green-snake.

BibTeX
@misc{dark_green_snake_2026,
  title = {Dark green snake (Hierophis viridiflavus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/dark-green-snake},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}