Saturday, May 1, 2010

Yet another cold-blooded encounter

The elegant and perfectly camouflaged Telescopus fallax (Fleischmann, 1831) basks in the late afternoon sun on garigue close to Baħrija, Malta.



Apart from the characteristic patches on its skin, the easiest way to distinguish this species is from its slit-like pupils, similar to those of cats, earning it the common English name of 'cat snake'. All other snake species of the Maltese islands have round pupils.

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