Wildlife reports are being submitted on a daily basis, most of them are observations of Reptiles and Mammals species. The following is a summary of Reptiles observations from the past week
Common sand viper, Cerastes vipera. NW Negev, 25/9/2014. ©Moshe Klukowski
Golden Greek Tortoise, Testudo gracea terrestris
Awl-headed Snake, Lytorhynchus diadema
Common sand viper, Cerastes vipera
A relatively small, venomous viper species, with a distinctive sexually dimorphic: females have a short and black tail, while the males have sandy-colored longer tails. The total length in Israel is usually under 35 cm, but Egyptian specimens known to be larger (<40 cm).
Common sand viper, Cerastes vipera. NW Negev, 25/9/2014. ©Shani Cohen
Horned Viper, Cerastes cerastes
Five specimens have been found during a 4 hours walk in the NW Negev dunes (Moshe, Shani and Simon, 26/9/2014).
Horned Viper, Cerastes cerastes. NW Negev, 25/9/2014. ©Shani Cohen
Palestine Viper, Vipera palaestinae
Hoogstraal’s cat snake, Telescopus hoogstraali
A rare snake, with a fragmented distribution. Young individuals that have been found in the NW Negev resembles European cat snake (Telescopus fallax), and surprisingly inhabits sandy areas.
Hoogstraal’s cat snake, Telescopus hoogstraali. NW Negev, 25/9/2014. ©Shani Cohen
Sand gecko, Stenodactylus Sthenodactylus
Anderson's Short-fingered Gecko, Stenodactylus petrii
On behalf of the team, thanks to all participants
Eyal
