European cat snake
| European Cat Snake | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Telescopus |
| Species: | T. fallax |
| Binomial name | |
| Telescopus fallax |
|
The European Cat Snake (Telescopus fallax) is a snake found in the Mediterranean and Caucasus regions. It occurs in Italy, Greece (Paros, Antiparos, Tourlos, Crete, Kalymnos, Samos, Milos, Corfu), Albania, coastal Croatia (including some Adriatic islands), Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, southern Bulgaria, Turkey, Malta, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, southern Russia (Caucasus, Dagestan), Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
The snake is a venomous species, but it is considered no threat to humans because it is rear-fanged and does not possess the ability to deliver the venom to humans, It can and does, however, use the grooved fangs at the back of its upper jaw to inject venom sufficient to kill its principal prey.
[edit] Feeding
The European Cat Snake feeds mainly on geckos and small lizards.
To kill its prey, the cat snake injects a sufficient amount of venom into its prey and will quite happily let its prey run away and die. The snake will just follow and find its prey by tasting the air around it and finding the path its dying prey took. It will then swallow the dead/paralyzed prey whole, headfirst.
[edit] References
SCIBERRAS, A. (2004) The Contribution of Maltese Reptiles to Agriculture. MCAST link issue 9 pg6.
