European cat snake

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European cat snake
Mediterranean Cat Snake.jpg
Telescopus fallax from Malta

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification edit
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Colubridae
Genus: Telescopus
Species:
T. fallax
Binomial name
Telescopus fallax
(, 1831)
Synonyms[1]
  • Coluber vivax Fitzinger, 1826
  • Tarbophis fallax Fleischmann, 1831
  • Trigonophis iberus Eichwald, 1831
  • Coluber carneus Dwigubsky, 1832
  • Ailurophis vivax — Bonaparte, 1837
  • Tarbophis savignyi Boulenger, 1896

The European cat snake (Telescopus fallax), also known as the Soosan snake, is a venomous colubrid snake endemic to the Mediterranean and Caucasus regions.

Geographic range[]

It occurs in Italy, Greece (Paros, Antiparos, Tourlos, Crete, Kalymnos, Samos, Milos, Corfu), Albania, coastal Slovenia, Croatia (including some Adriatic islands), Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, southern Bulgaria, Turkey, Malta, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, southern Russia (Caucasus region), Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.

Ecology[]

Head of the European cat snake

The European cat snake is venomous, but because it is rear-fanged (fangs are located at the back of the upper jaw), it rarely injects its venom in defensive biting, and is therefore considered no threat to humans. It feeds mainly on geckos and lizards.[citation needed]

The species can be found in open and scrubby country including beaches and open woodlands.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Aram Agasyan; Aziz Avci; Boris Tuniyev; Jelka Crnobrnja Isailovic; Petros Lymberakis; Claes Andrén; Dan Cogalniceanu; John Wilkinson; Natalia Ananjeva; Nazan Üzüm; et al. (2009). "Telescopus fallax". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2009: e.T157258A5062870. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T157258A5062870.en. Retrieved 16 January 2018.

Further reading[]

  • Arnold EN, Burton JA. 1978. A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe. London: Collins. 272 pp. + Plates 1-40.
    ISBN 0-00-219318-3. (Telescopus fallax, pp. 207–210 + Plate 38, Figures 4a, 4b + Map 120).
  • Fleischmann FL. 1831. Dalmatiae Nova Serpentum Genera. Erlangen, Germany: C. Heyder. 35 pp. (Tarbophis fallax, new species, p. 18).

External links[]

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