European cat snake
| European cat snake | ||||||||||||
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European cat snake ( Telescopus fallax ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Telescopus fallax | ||||||||||||
| Fleischmann , 1831 |
The European Cat Snake ( Telescopus fallax ) is a species of snakes (Colubridae). The distribution area extends from the south-east European Mediterranean area over the Greek islands and Turkey to southern Russia on the Caspian Sea , in the Middle East via Israel and Lebanon to northern Iran and in North Africa to eastern Egypt . It has furrow teeth in the back of the jaw that are connected to poison glands and is therefore assigned to the non- monophyletic group of snakes . In Greece this species is called agiofido ( Greek αγιόφιδο ), which means 'sacred serpent'.
features
The European cat snake is a medium-sized snake and reaches an average length of about 60 to 70 cm, large specimens can be up to 100 cm long. The body color is gray, gray-brown or yellowish-brown with a back markings of dark rectangular spots, between which lighter bars arise. There is a noticeable spot on the neck and the color of the head can lighten strongly towards the muzzle. The ventral side is yellowish-white, cream-colored or light pink and has dark, checkerboard-like spots. The body scales are smooth, so the body looks smooth and shiny.
The head is oval, flat and set off from the body. The medium-sized eyes have a vertically slit pupil . The forehead shield is very large, the rein shield usually hits the front edge of the eyes. There are an average of 19 rows of scales around the middle of the body, the number of which can vary between 17 and 21.
distribution and habitat
The distribution area of the snake includes Slovenia , Croatia , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Montenegro , Albania and Greece with the Greek islands, southern Macedonia and Bulgaria as well as Turkey with some offshore islands of the Aegean Sea . From there it moves to southern Russia on the Caspian Sea , to the Middle East via Israel , Syria and Lebanon to northern Iran and North Africa to eastern Egypt . A number of subspecies are recognized, some of which only colonize very small, geographically separated areas (island forms).
- T. f. fallax : The nominate form inhabits most of the Balkans, from Croatia to Montenegro, Albania, Greece to Bulgaria and to western and southern Turkey. The occurrence on Malta is most likely due to ancient exposures.
- T. f. intermedius : Antikythira Island.
- T. f. multisqamatus : Kufonisi Island.
- Tf cypriacus : Cyprus.
- T. f. rhodocius : Rhodes.
- T. f. pallidus : Crete and the neighboring islands of Gavdos , Elasa and Christiana.
- Tf syriacus : Southeast Turkey via Syria, Lebanon and Northern Israel.
- T. f. hoogstraali : Sinai and the Negev desert in Israel.
- T. f. iberus : Eastern Turkey and from Iran to Russia.
The animals live in dry and well-sunlit, with bushes and interspersed with stones and boulders slopes in the lowlands and in the mountains, they reach altitudes of up to 1,500 m. In valleys they live in the area of rivers and in sparse deciduous forests.
Way of life
The European cat snake is crepuscular and nocturnal. The locomotion is extremely slow and creeping, even on the run it is very sluggish. It climbs perfectly in rocks and on house facades and during the day hides in crevices and brittle masonry. Their range of prey includes lizards , skinks and geckos, as well as smaller snakes and, less often, small mammals , especially mice. The prey animals are caught by the snake slowly approaching (like a cat) and then grabbing. She holds the captured animals in her jaws until the poison of her poisonous teeth, which are located in the back of the rows of teeth, acts and paralyzes or kills the prey.
The snake is egg-laying, the clutch consists of 5 to 7 eggs. The young snakes hatch in late summer and start actively searching for food after the first molt.
Snake venom
European cat snakes have a poison that is effective for their prey, which they can introduce into a wound via the rear furrow teeth (opistoglyph). The snakes can also bite people, although the poison, which is relatively harmless to humans, is usually not used due to the poisonous teeth that are far back. Bite accidents are also comparatively rare.
literature
- Ulrich Gruber: The snakes of Europe. Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-440-05753-4 , pp. 163-164.
- Axel Kwet: Reptiles and Amphibians of Europe . Franckh'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-440-10237-8 , p. 210.
- Benny Trapp: Amphibians and reptiles of the Greek mainland. Natur und Tier - Verlag, Münster 2007, ISBN 978-3-86659-022-9 , pp. 238–241.
Web links
- Pictures on Blickwinkel.de
- Telescopus fallax in The Reptile Database
- Telescopus fallax inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Aram Agasyan, Aziz Avci, Boris Tuniyev, Jelka Crnobrnja Isailovic, Petros Lymberakis, Claes Andrén, Dan Cogalniceanu, John Wilkinson, Natalia Ananjeva, Nazan Üzüm, Nikolai Orlov, Richard Podloucky , Sako Tuniyev, Uğur Kaya, Rast, Wolfgang B Ajtic, Varol Tok, Ismail H. Ugurtas, Murat Sevinç, Pierre-André Crochet, Ahmad Mohammed Mousa Disi, Souad Hraoui-Bloquet, Riyad Sadek, Yehudah Werner, Idriz Haxhiu, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2014.