{{Short description|Species of snake}} {{Speciesbox |image=Mediterranean Cat Snake.jpg |image_caption=''Telescopus fallax'' from Malta |status=LC |status_system=IUCN3.1 |status_ref =<ref name=iucn>{{Cite iucn | author = Aram Agasyan | author2 = Aziz Avci | author3 = Boris Tuniyev | author4 = Jelka Crnobrnja Isailovic | author5 = Petros Lymberakis | author6 = Claes Andrén | author7 = Dan Cogalniceanu | author8 = John Wilkinson | author9 = Natalia Ananjeva | author10 = Nazan Üzüm | display-authors = etal | title = ''Telescopus fallax'' | article-number = e.T157258A5062870 | date = 2009 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2009.RLTS.T157258A5062870.en | access-date = 15 March 2022}}</ref> |genus=Telescopus |species=fallax |authority=(Fleischmann, 1831) |synonyms= *''Tarbophis fallax'' <small>Fleischmann, 1831</small> *''Coluber vivax'' <small>Fitzinger, 1826</small> *''Trigonophis iberus'' <small>Eichwald, 1831</small> *''Coluber carneus'' <small>Dwigubsky, 1832</small> *''Ailurophis vivax'' <small>&mdash; Bonaparte, 1837</small> *''Tarbophis savignyi'' <small>Boulenger, 1896</small> |synonyms_ref=<ref name=iucn/> }}

The '''European cat snake''' ('''''Telescopus fallax'''''), or the '''Mediterranean cat snake''', is a species of venomous snake belonging to the family Colubridae. This species is found in Southeastern Europe and Western Asia.

==Taxonomy== The European cat snake was first formally described as ''Tarbophis fallax'' in 1831 by the German naturalist Friedrich Ludwig Fleischmann with its type locality given as Dalmatia and Istria.<ref name = Fleischmann>{{cite thesis | author = F. L. Fleischmann |year=1831 |title=Dalmatiae nova serpentum genera |url=https://vipersgarden.at/PDF_files/PDF-4704.pdf |degree=MD |publisher=Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg}}</ref> Fitzinger had named ''Coluber fallax'' in 1826, which referred to this species, but this name is a ''nomen nudum''. This species is now classified in the genus ''Telescopus'' which belongs to the subfamily Colubrinae of the family Colubridae.<ref name = RDB/>

==Distribution== The European cat snake is found in is southeastern Europe from the extreme northeastern part of Italy southwards along Adriatic coast of the Balkans to Albania, Northern Macedonia, Greece and southern Bulgaria. It can also be found on some Mediterranean islands such as Malta, Crete and Cyprus. In Western Asia its range extends from ranges from Turkey south to Israel, east to Iraq and Iran and north into the Caucasus Mountains as far as southern Russia.<ref name = iucn/> It was first recorded in Malta in 1894 and was thought to be an introduced species but recent studies have indicated it is native to the archipelago.<ref name = BioSnippet>{{cite web |url=https://era.org.mt/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/BioSnippet_53-Cat_Snake.pdf |title=BioSnippet Issue 53 |access-date=25 April 2025 |publisher=Environment & Resources Authority}}</ref>

==Ecology and Biology == The European cat snake is venomous, but because it is rear-fanged (i.e. its fangs are located at the back of the upper jaw), its venom is not very effective against humans. Its venom can still be injected when biting if a body part is deep enough to attempt to swallow. It feeds mainly on geckos, lizards, and other snakes.<ref name="Snakes of Europe">{{cite book |last1=Geniez |first1=Philippe |title=Snakes of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East: A Photographic Guide |date=8 May 2018 |publisher=Princeton University Press |pages=191, 193–194 |isbn=978-0-691-17239-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ymhADwAAQBAJ&dq=European+cat+snake&pg=PA191 |access-date=26 February 2025}}</ref>

The species can be found in open and scrubby country including beaches and open woodlands. The species also inhabits mountainous areas.<ref name=iucn/><ref name="Snakes of Europe" />

European cat snakes can reach a length of up to 100 cm.<ref name="Snakes of Europe" />

==Subspecies== 5 subspecies are currently recognized.<ref name = RDB>{{cite web | url=https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Telescopus&species=fallax | title=Telescopus fallax |access-date=25 April 2025}}</ref>

*''Telescopus fallax cyprianus'' (Barbour & Amaral, 1927) - Cyprus *''Telescopus fallax fallax'' (Fleischmann, 1831) - Northeastern Italy, Greece (Paros, Mykonos, Antiparos, Crete, Kalymnos, Samos, Kimolos, Milos, Corfu, Syros), Albania, coastal Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia, southern Bulgaria, Turkey, Malta, Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Israel, southern Russia, Armenia, Republic of Georgia, and Azerbaijan. *''Telescopus fallax iberus'' (Eichwald, 1831) - Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Georgia, southern Russia, northern Iran, and East Turkey. *''Telescopus fallax pallidus'' (Stepanek, 1944) - Crete, Gavdos, Elasa and Christiana Islands. *''Telescopus fallax syriacus'' (Boettger, 1880) - Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, southeast Turkey and northern Israel.

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== * Arnold EN, Burton JA. 1978. ''A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of Britain and Europe''. London: Collins. 272 pp. + Plates 1–40. <br />{{ISBN|0-00-219318-3}}. (''Telescopus fallax'', pp.&nbsp;207–210 + Plate 38, Figures 4a, 4b + Map 120). * Fleischmann FL. 1831. ''Dalmatiae Nova Serpentum Genera''. Erlangen, Germany: C. Heyder. 35 pp. (''Tarbophis fallax'', new species, p.&nbsp;18).

==External links== {{Wikispecies|Telescopus fallax}} {{Commons}} *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3aytQA63BI Video of ''Telescopus fallax''] on YouTube *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oJpAWwMCnk Video of ''Telescopus fallax''] on YouTube *[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-9JOZwvgUQ Movement of ''Telescopus fallax''] on YouTube

{{Telescopus}} {{Taxonbar|from=Q1377407}}

Category:Telescopus Category:Reptiles of West Asia Category:Reptiles of Europe Category:Reptiles described in 1831 Category:Reptiles of Russia