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Coluber nummifer (Reuss 1834)
Family: Colubridae
Coin Snake – harmless
CHARACTERISTICS
Strong snake with the head clearly distinguishable from the neck. Eyes with round pupils and lightly keeled scales all over until the very long tail. The upper head can have a variable colouring. On the back from head to tail there are dark brown patches. The total length can reach 150 cms.
| Habits: |
Coluber nummifer is day-active, loves the sun and is remarkably agile. Lives nearby populated areas where it is loooking for food in old stone walls. |
| Food: |
Small mammals, lizards and birds. The prey is encircled in the split-second and strangled to death. |
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Coluber jugularis (Linnaus 1758)
Family: Colubridae
Persian Large Whip Snake – harmless
CHARACTERISTICS
Very big slim snake with a small head clearly distinguishable from the neck, big eyes with round pupils, smooth scales and a long tail ending in a fine tip. The colouring of the back and the sides is variable, it can be darkbrown, olivebrown or even sheer black. The total length can reach 3m.
| Biotope: |
Above all dry intensively sunned areas in the plane, hills or mountains. Lives also nearby waters. |
| Habits: |
The Persian Large Whip Snake is day-active and a very agile viper who sunbathes early in the morning and afternoon very extensively. |
| Food: |
Small mammals, lizards and snakes. |
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Typhlos vermicularis (Merren 1820)
Family: Typhlopidae
Wormsnake – harmless
CHARACTERISTICS
Very small wormlike snake whose firm round body is covered all around by little scales. The head, which is not distinguishable from the body, is small and short. The almost unrecognisable punctiform eyes are hidden by transparent scales and the small opening of the mouth is merely visible. The tail is very short with a thornlike tip.
Colouring glossy yellow-brown to reddish.
Length about 30 – 35 cms.
| Habitat: |
Balkan, Near and Middle East |
| Biotope: |
Lives in planes as well as in the hills or mountains where it is dry and plantation scarce. |
| Habits: |
Keeps itself nearly almost withunder objects lying on the soil (stones/wood). Eats ants and their larvae. |
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I was cleaning out my office the other day and came across an old file with information about snakes in Cyprus. I thought I’d start a series of posts dedicated to this as I have colleagues with adventurous children who often ask about poisonous snakes in Cyprus. I also think it’s much more useful to have on the net as opposed to in a drawer in my office. Here is a scan of the sticker which appears on the front of the file.
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