Telescopus fallax

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Subordo: Serpentes
Infraordo: Caenophidia
Superfamilia: Colubroidea

Familia: Colubridae
Subfamilia: Colubrinae
Genus: Telescopus
Species: Telescopus fallax
Subspecies (7): T. f. cyprianus – T. f. fallax – T. f. iberus – T. f. intermedius – T. f. multisquamatus – T. f. pallidus – T. f. syriacus
Name

Telescopus fallax (Fleischmann, 1831)

Holotype: none designated.

Type locality: “Dalmatiae, Istriae agrique Tergestinensis muris et petris”, restricted to “Trieste Prov., Italy” by Mertens & Müller (1928: 50).
Synonyms

Telescopus fallax fallax (FLEISCHMANN 1831)
? Coluber vivax FITZINGER 1826: 57
Tarbophis fallax FLEISCHMANN 1831
Telescopus fallax rhodicus WETTSTEIN 1952
Telescopus fallax mcewani SCHMIDT 1939
Tarbophis iberus EICHWALD 1831 (fide KHALIKOV, pers. comm.)
Tarbophis fallax FLEISCHMANN 1831 (fide KHALIKOV, pers. comm.)
? Tarbophis vivax — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 913
Tarbophis vivax — BOULENGER 1888
Tarbophis fallax — BOULENGER 1913
Telescopus fallax — ENGELMANN (et al.) 1993
Telescopus fallax cyprianus (BARBOUR & AMARAL 1927)
Tarbophis fallax cyprianus — WERNER 1936
Telescopus fallax iberus EICHWALD 1831
Trigonophis iberus EICHWALD 1831
Tarbophis iberus — BOULENGER 1913
Telescopus fallax iberus — SCHMIDT 1939
Telescopus fallax iberus — LEVITON et al. 1992
Telescopus fallax iberus — ENGELMANN (et al.) 1993
Telescopus iberus — FRANK & RAMUS 1995: 240
Telescopus fallax iberus — BISCHOFF 2002
Telescopus fallax pallidus STEPANEK 1944
Telescopus fallax pallidus — FRÖR & BEUTLER 1978
Telescopus fallax pallidus — SOWIG 1985
Telescopus fallax syriacus (BOETTGER 1889)
Tarbophis vivax f. syriaca BOETTGER 1889
Telescopus fallax syriacus — SCHMIDT 1939
Telescopus fallax syriacus — ESTERBAUER 1985
Telescopus fallax syriacus — HRAOUI-BLOQUET et al. 2002
Telescopus fallax syriacus — GÖCMEN et al. 2007

References
Primary references

Fleischmann, F.L. 1831. Dalmatiae nova serpentum genera. Inaug. Dissertation: Erlangen.

Links

Uetz, P. & Hallermann, J. 2022. Telescopus fallax. The Reptile Database. Accessed on 10 May 2019.
Agasyan, A., Avci, A., Tuniyev, B., Isailovic, J.C., Lymberakis, P., Andrén, C., Cogalniceanu, D., Wilkinson, J., Ananjeva, N., Üzüm, N., Orlov, N., Podloucky, R., Tuniyev, S., Kaya, U., Böhme, W., Ajtic, R., Tok, V., Ugurtas, I.H., Sevinç, M., Crochet, P.-A., Mousa Disi, A.M., Hraoui-Bloquet, S., Sadek, R., Werner, Y. & Haxhiu, I. 2009. IUCN: Telescopus fallax (Least Concern). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2009: e.T157258A5062870. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T157258A5062870.en

Vernacular names
Deutsch: Europäische Katzennatter
English: Mediterranean Cat Snake or European Catsnake
eesti: Kassmadu
македонски: Мачја змија

The European cat snake (Telescopus fallax), also known as the Soosan snake, is a venomous colubrid snake endemic to the Mediterranean and Caucasus regions.

Geographic range

It occurs in Italy, Greece (Paros, Antiparos, Tourlos, Crete, Kalymnos, Samos, Milos, Corfu), Albania, coastal Slovenia, Croatia (including some Adriatic islands), Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, southern Bulgaria, Turkey, Malta, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, southern Russia (Caucasus region), Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.
Ecology
Head of the European cat snake

The European cat snake is venomous, but because it is rear-fanged (fangs are located at the back of the upper jaw), it rarely injects its venom in defensive biting, and is therefore considered no threat to humans. It feeds mainly on geckos and lizards.[citation needed]

The species can be found in open and scrubby country including beaches and open woodlands.[1]
References

Aram Agasyan; Aziz Avci; Boris Tuniyev; Jelka Crnobrnja Isailovic; Petros Lymberakis; Claes Andrén; Dan Cogalniceanu; John Wilkinson; Natalia Ananjeva; Nazan Üzüm; et al. (2009). "Telescopus fallax". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2009: e.T157258A5062870. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T157258A5062870.en. Retrieved 16 January 2018.