What snake bit Philoctetes? A zoological commentary on the ancient Greek myth Author Danelis, Taxiarchis 34400 Psachna, Euboea (Greece) taxdanelis@gmail.com text Anthropozoologica 2025 2025-01-10 60 1 1 15 https://sciencepress.mnhn.fr/sites/default/files/articles/pdf/anthropozoologica2025v60a1.pdf journal article 10.5252/anthropozoologica2025v60a1 2107-08817 14633470

TABLE 1. — The snakes that Pierre Belon (1553) recorded on Lemnos Island according to his work Les observations de plusieurs singularitez & choses memorables, trouvées en Grèce, Asie, Judée, Egypte,Arabie, & autres pays estranges, and their current taxonomic names.The species list is based onStrachinis & Roussos (2016).

Pierre Belon’s names (16th century A. D.)
Common (“vulgar”) name	Ancient name	Taxonomic name	Comments
Cenchriti(s) [ΚΕΧρίτης]	Cenchris [ΚΕΓΧρίς]	Malpolon insignitus Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827	See in text: Fig. 3. Merle (2001) states that Cenchris is the Nore-horned viper, Vipera ammodytes but there is no viper species on Lemnos (see below).
Laphiati(s) [ΛαΦιάτης]	Elaphis [ἘλαΦίς]	(colubrid) Dolichophis caspius Gmelin, 1789	Laphiatis (or Lafiatis) refers to Elaphe quatuorlineata but the species is not present on Lemnos (Strachinis & Roussos 2016).
Ochendra [ΌΧΕντρα]	Echis/Echidna [ἜΧις/ἜΧιδνα]	(viper?) Natrix natrix Linnaeus, 1758; Eryx jaculus Linnaeus, 1758	There is no viper species on Lemnos; confused with Natrix natrix or Eryx jaculus because of the colouration (Strachinis & Roussos 2016).
Sagittari [Σαϊττάρι]	Iaculus/Acontias [Ἀκοντίας]	Platyceps najadum Eichwald, 1831	See depiction of Saetta/Sagitta in Belon (1553: 88).
Tephliti(s)/Tephlotis [ΤΥΦλίτης/ΤΥΦλώτης]	Tiphlini(s) [ΤΥΦλίνης]	Pseudopus apodus Pallas, 1775	Legless lizard but considered as a snake by Belon (1553).
Nerophid(i)a [ΝΕροΦίδα]	—	Natrix natrix	Nerophida (ΝΕροΦίδα) = Water-snake
Amphisbena [ΑΜΦίσβαινα]	Amphisbena [ἈΜΦίσβαινα]	Eryx jaculus	Amphisbaena (ΑΜΦίσβαινα) refers to worm lizards due to their tail that looks like a second head but here, Belon (1553) might refer to Eryx jaculus because of the same characteristic.