NATURA SLOVENIAE 24(2): 59-60 Prejeto / Received: 8. 2. 2022 
FIELD NOTE Sprejeto / Accepted: 13. 6. 2022 
 
Biotehniška fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani in Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo, Ljubljana, 2022 
Two new findings of dicephalic 
snakes from Croatia 
 
Dve novi najdbi dvoglavih primerkov 
kač na Hrvaškem 
 
Mladen ZADRAVEC1*, Tomislav ŠARIĆ2 
1Ministry of Economy and Sustainable 
Development, Institute for Environment and 
Nature, Radnička cesta 80, HR-10000 Zagreb, 
Croatia, E-mails: mladen.zadravec@mingor.hr, 
mladen.z123@gmail.com 
2Independent researcher, HR-44272 Gornji 
Vukojevac, Croatia; E-mail: 
tomislav.sar@gmail.com 
*corresponding author 
 
Dicephalism in snakes is a condition when a snake 
has two more-or-less joined heads, with or without 
a short neck. Although relatively rarely observed in 
the wild, there have been hundreds of observations 
reported from different parts of the world over 
many centuries (Wallach 2007). In Croatia, the first 
known occurrence of this condition was the case of 
a dicephalic Balkan whip snake (Hierophis 
gemonensis (Laurenti, 1768)), a 20 cm long 
juvenile, found on 19.6.1930 between Zamet and 
Kastav near Rijeka by Josip Vidović (Hirtz 1937a). 
The snake died several days after capture, probably 
due to injuries while being »tortured with a stick« 
by children who found it [original: »…ali ona je za 
nekoliko dana poginula, očito zbog povreda, jer su 
je djeca mučila šibom.«]. The second record for the 
country was a juvenile Aesculapian snake (Zamenis 
longissimus (Laurenti, 1768)), found on 28.9.2002 
near Zlatna Greda in the surroundings of Monjoroš 
Hunting Lodge by Siniša Urbanović (Barišić 2002). 
It survived in captivity until the first half of March 
2003 (Anonymous 2003).  
 
Here we report on two new observations of 
dicephalic snakes in Croatia. A dicephalic juvenile 
grass snake (Natrix natrix (Linnaeus, 1758)) was 
found on 29.9.2016 near Kravarsko (south of Velika 
Gorica; N: 45.584138, E: 16.043756) by a local 
homeowner, who contacted the second author. The 
snake was a juvenile, about 25 cm in total length. 
It survived for a year and a half in captivity, during 
which it grew to about 50 cm in total length. It ate 
fish and used both heads during feeding (Fig. 1). 
The most recent finding of a dicephalic snake is a 
juvenile smooth snake (Coronella austriaca 
Laurenti, 1768) found on 31.8.2022 in Sisak, on the 
parking lot of ABS Sisak d.o.o. (within the Sisak 
Ironworks, N: 45.452435, E: 16.392525) by Lucija 
Odobašić (Fig. 1). The snake was found and 
photographed in situ and was not caught.  
The finder posted the photo on the »Sisački  
Forum« Facebook group on the same day 
[https://www.facebook.com/groups/SisackiForum/
permalink/2139939209512306/]. The sex of the 
individual could not be determined from the photo. 
Dicephalic snakes rarely survive for long in the wild 
(see Wallach 2007 for a brief overview), and in 
combination with the industrial nature of the 
location where this specimen was found, there are 
poor chances of its survival and reaching adulthood. 
 
Dicephaly has already been known for grass snakes, 
but to the author’s knowledge this is the first finding 
of a dicephalic grass snake in the region. Dicephalic 
smooth snakes are known in the region, e.g. from 
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Hirtz 1935) and Slovenia 
(Hirtz 1937b), but to the author’s knowledge this is 
the first observation from Croatia.  
 
Acknowledgments 
 
Heartfelt thanks go to Lucija Odobašić for sharing her 
finding of the dicephalic Coronella austriaca and her written 
permission to publish it and use the photo, and to Maja 
Pavičić for bringing it to our attention. Our thanks also go 
to Barbara and Berislav Horvatić for their constructive 
feedback on the manuscript. 
 
References 
 
Anonymous (2003): Uginula baranjska dvoglava 
zmija. Index.hr. 
http://www.index.hr/vijesti/clanak/uginula-
baranjska-dvoglava-zmija/118045.aspx 
[accessed on 3. 5. 2017]. 
Barišić I. (2002): Dvoglava zmija dogmizala lugaru. 
Večernji.hr. 
https://www.vecernji.hr/vijesti/dvoglava-
zmija-dogmizala-lugaru-723796 [accessed on 
3. 5. 2017]. 
Hirtz M. (1935): Dvoglave zmije. Priroda 25(9):  
274-277. 
Hirtz M. (1937a): Opet dvoglava zmija. Priroda 
27(4): 125-126. 
Hirtz M. (1937b): Dvoglava zmija. Priroda 27(2):  
61-62. 
60 Mladen ZADRAVEC & Tomislav ŠARIĆ: Two new findings of dicephalic snakes from Croatia / FIELD NOTE 
NATURA SLOVENIAE 24(2): 59-60 
Wallach V. (2007): Axial bifurcation and duplication 
in snakes. Part I. A synopsis of authentic and 
anecdotal cases. Bull. Md. Herpetol. Soc 43(2): 
57-95. 
 
 
 
 
   
Figure 1. Left: Dicephalic grass snake (Natrix natrix), found on 29.09.2016 in Kravarsko (photo: Tomislav Šarić). Right: 
Dicephalic smooth snake (Coronella austriaca) found on 31.08.2022 on the ABS Sisak d.o.o. parking lot in Sisak (photo: 
Lucija Odobašić). 
Slika 1. Levo: Dvoglava belouška (Natrix natrix), najdena 29.09.2016 v Kravarskem (foto: Tomislav Šarić). Desno: 
Smokulja (Coronella austriaca), najdena 31.08.2022 na parkirišču ABS Sisak d.o.o. v Sisku (foto: Lucija Odobašić).