Mueller's earth viper
| Mueller's earth viper | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg)
Mueller's earth viper ( Micrelaps muelleri ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Micrelaps muelleri | ||||||||||||
| Boettger , 1880 |
Micrelaps muelleri ( Micrelaps muelleri ), or short Erdviper , is a kind of Erdvipern (Atractaspididae), which in the Middle East in Israel , the Lebanon and Syria is widespread. Like all terrestrial vipers, it has rear furrow teeth in the back of the jaw that are connected to poison glands .
features
Mueller's earth viper is a small type of snake and reaches a maximum length of about 35 to 52 cm. The body color is black or black-brown with white rings that vary in width and are sometimes wider and narrower than the dark rings. The ventral side is colored dark, which interrupts the light rings. The head is dark brown, the neck light.
The head is flat and set off from the body. The small eyes have a round oval pupil . The forehead shield is very small, a rein shield is missing, as is the forehead shield . There is a postocular behind the eye . The upper edge of the third and fourth upper lip shields touch the eye, a total of seven shields are formed. The body scales are smooth. There are 15 rows of scales around the middle of the body.
distribution and habitat
Mueller's earth viper can be found in the Middle East in Israel , Lebanon, and Syria . As a habitat, the animals colonize thorn-bush steppes and semi-deserts with rocky and stony subsoil, reaching altitudes of up to 2,000 m.
Way of life
Little data is available on the way of life of Mueller's earth viper. It is a predominantly nocturnal ground snake that digs in the ground looking for small mammals such as mice and lizards. They are also often found in the duct systems of small mammals.
The snake is laying eggs.
Snake venom
Mueller's earth viper has a relatively effective but usually non-lethal poison, which they can bring into a wound via the rear furrow teeth.
literature
- Ulrich Gruber: The snakes of Europe. Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1989; Page 165. ISBN 3-440-05753-4 .
Web links
- Image of Mueller's Earth Viper on flickr.com
- Micrelaps muelleri in The Reptile Database
- Micrelaps muelleri inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Disi, M., AM, Hraoui-Bloquet, S., Sadek, R., Werner, Y. & Crochet, PA., 2006. Retrieved November 23, 2013.