This article is part of this one.
Telescopus fallax (Fleischmann 1831)
Family: Colubridae Boiginae
Catsnake – venomous
CHARACTERISTICS
Slim snake with the head clearly distinguishable from the neck, eyes with perpendicularly slit pupils and a body covered with smooth scales. The colour is grey or brownish. On the back and other parts of the body there are dark patches. The creamcoloured rosy abdomen is normally dark freckled.
Length up to 1m.
| Habitat: |
Balkan, Aegean and South-East Asia |
| Biotope: |
Strongly sunned and stony bushy slopes. |
| Habits: |
This dusk and night active species can be observed rather rarely. |
| Food: |
Lizards, sometimes mice. The prey is killed or paralyzed by a weak venom. For man this snake is harmless because it cannot play its poison fangs because of the small head and mouth. |
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This article is part of this one.
Mapolon monspessulanus (Hermann 1804)
Family: Colubridae Boiginae
Montpellier Snake – venomous
CHARACTERISTICS
Very strong snake with a head indented in the middle and strikingly big eyes and round pupils. Head unicolour or bright and dark patches and lines. Body mostly monochrome, grey or greyish brown. Abdomen cream-yellow to light grey.
| Habitat: |
Southern Europe, North Africa and South-West Asia. |
| Biotope: |
Above all open and dry landscapes in planes and hills. But also proceeds to the mountains. The species rather like to live in the sunny biotopes. Can live in humid areas, but rather seldom. |
| Habits: |
This is a remarkably fast and agile snake which is very shy and flees at the slightest danger uttering a strong hiss. |
| Food: |
Lizards, snakes and birds. The poison fangs sitting far behind in the upper jaw are effective only when the prey is already far deep in the throat. The venom serves to prepare the prey for digestion and so to relive the stomach. |
This snake is not normally dangerous to man. Only when it succeeds to grip a finger deep enough in its jaw the venom can penetrate.
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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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