False cobra
Moilanatter ( Malpolon moilensis )
The Moilanatter ( Malpolon moilensis ) is a species of the superfamily of vipers and viper -like ( Colubroidae ) and, together with the European Montpellier snake (M. monspessulanus ) the genus of lizards snakes ( Malpolon ). The distribution area extends into North Africa from Mauritania to Egypt and south to the Sudan and on the Arabian Peninsula to Iraq and Iran. It has the back of the jaw grooves teeth that are connected to poison glands, and is therefore not monophyletic group of snakes associated with deceit.
Features
Moilanatter the snake is a medium and achieved an average length of about 70 to 95 cm, and maximum lengths of up to 100 cm have been documented. It it is a slim, long-acting snake. The body color is reddish yellow to gray sand. The dorsal pattern consists of indistinct dark spots, which merge at the edges into smaller patches. Behind the mouth is in each case a bullion spot that attracts to the throat, also it has a dark spot below the eye. The belly is creamy white and may have a reddish mottling.
The head is stepped triangular and indistinct from the body. The large eyes have a round pupil. The snout is elongated plate and pushes the tip between the two intermediate nose shields. In addition, the snake has a rein shield, a Voraugenschild, two or three rear eye shields, and seven to eight upper lip shields, of which touch the 3rd and 4th or the 5th and 6th eyes lower margin. The edges of the supraorbital shields are less pronounced than in the closely related European Montpellier snake. Around the middle of the body are 17 scale rows.
Distribution and habitat
The distribution area extends into North Africa from Mauritania to Egypt and south to the Sudan and on the Arabian Peninsula to Iraq and Iran.
As a habitat, the animals inhabit desert areas with sparse vegetation, mainly stony deserts to heights of up to 1,500 meters. Occasionally, they also occur in the vicinity of human dwellings.
Way of life
The Moilanatter is diurnal and moving very fast forward. In the winter months it keeps for several months hibernation. Your prey spectrum comprises mainly lizards, snakes and small mammals and rare birds. The juveniles also feed on large insects.
The mating season of the snake is in the April to June. Females are oviparous, the clutch consist of less than 4 to 18 eggs, which are stored in piles of leaves, damp earth or masonry. The young snakes hatch from late September to early October.
Snake venom
Moilanattern have an effective for their prey poison, which they can bring to a wound on the furrows behind permanent teeth ( opistoglyph ). The snakes can bite people when they are taken. The poison is for people indeed painful but relatively harmless and usually comes through the far back standing fangs not used.