The blotched snake, Elaphe sauromates (Pallas 1814), is one of the largest and more massive European snakes, growing up to 2.6 m in length (Fuhn and Vancea, 1961). The species is easily recognizable by the yellow dorsal coloration with four rows of dark brown, black, or reddishbrown blotches and the black oblique line from the eye to the corner of the mouth (Fuhn and Vancea, 1961;Schultz, 1996;Böhme and Shcherbak, 1999). Juveniles differ in coloration from the adults, the background color being gray or yellowish with four to five rows of dark brown or black blotches (Fuhn and Vancea, 1961;Böhme and Shcherbak, 1999).Described in 1814 by Pallas, the species was demoted to a subspecies of the four-lined snake, Elaphe quatuorlineata (Lacepede, 1789), the type locality being restricted to Isthmus near Perekop, Tauria, Ukraine by Mertens and Müller (1928). Molecular analyses conducted by Lenk et al. (2001) and Utiger et al. (2002) indicated the existence of three clades within E. quatuorlineata, of which E. sauromates is the most genetically distinct.The distribution range of the blotched snake partially covers two continents

The present paper discusses preliminary data on population characteristics and ecology of the meadow viper Vipera ursinii in the Romanian Danube Delta. Using line transects and the Distance software, the size of the studied population was estimated at 321 (95% confidence interval: 166-618) individuals on a 62 ha area. The sex-ratio of the population was close to 1:1 and juvenile specimens were well represented. Half of the captured adult females were gravid, possibly indicating a more than annual reproductive cycle. Analysis of sexual dimorphism of 12 morphometric traits indicated significant differences only in tail length and height. No significant relationships were detected between the size, sex, age or reproductive status and the thermal ecology of the vipers. Microhabitat selection and activity patterns varied with age, sex and reproductive status and are probably linked to an onthogenetic shift in feeding ecology and to behavioral differences between reproductive and non-reproductive females.

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Testudo graeca is one of the two species of tortoises from Romania, the other one being Testudo hermanni. It is well known that this species has a broad but fragmented distribution range and this fact labels this species as Vulnerable in the IUCN Red List. The population of Testudo graeca ibera from the Natura 2000 site “Marine dunes from Agigea” is characterized by a high percentage of injuries (84%) from the total of 43 individuals found alive. A high percentage of individuals have injuries on all the plates from carapace and plastron. All lesions appear to be chronic, suggesting that there is a series of predisposing factors, such as: inadequate terrain (concrete, metal, broken glass and other hard objects), high-density dog population and coprophagia, which could be a sign of unbalanced nutrition. This is the first report of a population of Testudo graeca which has such a high percentage of individuals with shell damage.