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81553
Glaciation, Land Bridges, and their relation with the spread of snakes
WHY THERE ARE NO SNAKES IN IRELAND
Saint Patrick did not have a difficult job chasing snakes from Ireland. There were not any there. Ireland and Britain were almost completely glaciated. The low sea level allowed land bridges to connect them and link Britain with the continent. After the ice melted, some 12,000 years ago, the bridge to Ireland was quickly inundated. But the English Channel was not flooded until almost 8,000 years ago. A few snakes managed to get from Europe to Britain before the breach; Britain has three species. None made it to Ireland.
Taken from the book "The Snake Almanac" by Edward R. Ricciuti
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