NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
European Catsnake
Telescopus fallax Fleischmann, 1831
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
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.
Wikipedia contributors, European cat snake; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:37:29.589660+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Telescopus fallax Fleischmann, 1831
- Name authority
- Fleischmann, 1831
- Common name
- European Catsnake
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Colubridae
- Genus
- Telescopus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyColubridae
- subfamilyColubrinae
- genusTelescopus
- speciesTelescopus fallax Fleischmann, 1831
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Telescopus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Telescopus hoogstraali Schmidt & Marx, 1956 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Beautiful Cat SnakeTelescopus pulcher (Scortecci, 1935) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Indian Desert Tiger SnakeTelescopus rhinopoma (Blanford, 1874) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Soosan Tiger SnakeTelescopus tessellatus (Wall, 1908) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Variable Cat SnakeTelescopus variegatus (Reinhardt, 1843) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Telescopus tripolitanus (Werner, 1909) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Telescopus wangariae Ribeiro-Júnior, Koch, Flecks, Campbell, Calvo, Spawls, Vidal & Meiri, 2025 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Somali Cat SnakeTelescopus somalicus (Parker, 1949) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Telescopus salvadori Ribeiro-Júnior, Koch, Flecks, Campbell, Calvo, Spawls, Vidal & Meiri, 2025 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Telescopus reussi Ribeiro-Júnior, Koch, Flecks, Campbell, Calvo, Spawls, Vidal & Meiri, 2025 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Telescopus crocheti Ribeiro-Júnior, Koch, Flecks, Campbell, Calvo, Spawls, Vidal & Meiri, 2025 | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Telescopus guentheri (Anderson, 1895) | ColubridaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Telescopus fallax mcewani Schmidt, 1939 Schmidt, 1939 | synonym |
| Telescopus fallax christianus Buchholz, 1955 Buchholz, 1955 | synonym |
| Trigonophis iberus Eichwald, 1831 Eichwald, 1831 | synonym |
| Coluber vivax Fitzinger, 1826 Fitzinger, 1826 | synonym |
| Telescopus fallax intermedius Gruber, 1974 Gruber, 1974 | synonym |
| Telescopus fallax cyprianus (Barbour & Amaral, 1927) (Barbour & Amaral, 1927) | ambiguous synonym |
| Tarbophis iberus Eichwald, 1831 Eichwald, 1831 | ambiguous synonym |
| Tarbophis fallax cyprianus Barbour & Amaral, 1927 Barbour & Amaral, 1927 | synonym |
| Telescopus fallax rhodicus Wettstein, 1952 Wettstein, 1952 | synonym |
| Tarbophis vivax f. syriaca Boettger, 1880 Boettger, 1880 | synonym |
| Tarbophis savignyi Boulenger Boulenger | synonym |
| Telescopus fallax multisquamatus Wettstein, 1952 Wettstein, 1952 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Telescopus&species=fallax Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:556CC. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.