Malpolon monspessulanus
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
Malpolon monspessulanus, commonly known as the Montpellier snake, is a species of mildly venomous rear-fanged snake. It is very common in Spain, Portugal and Northwest Africa, being also present in the southern Mediterranean coast of France and the western regions of the Middle East. The snake's specific name, monspessulanus, is a Latinized form of Montpellier, a city in southern France.
It is up to 2.55 metres (8 ft) long and may weigh up to 2 kilograms (4 lb). It is active during the day and mainly feeds on lizards. Although it is venomous, only a few cases of envenomation of humans are known, one of which occurred when a finger was inserted into the snake's mouth. The Montpellier snake is not a dangerous snake for humans. The rear fangs reduce the possibility of venom injection, and the venom is of low toxicity. Venom injections are possible in bites of big individuals. The venom is not very dangerous; symptomatic treatment suffices to treat an envenomation. The unthreatening nature of the snake, along with its relatively mild persecution by man, has made it one of the most common species throughout its... Wikipedia →
Recording0:13
Portugal · 2024
© verapereira · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:13
Portugal · 2022
© Helio Batista · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:13
Portugal · 2022
© Nelson Conceição · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Sierra Nevada National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 3 | Doñana National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 4 | Sierra de Guadarrama National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moscow Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 2 | Alpenzoo Innsbruck | 🇦🇹 Austria |
No species of the same family or order lives in Porto, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Montpellier Snake sighting in Porto on a given day, based on 25 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 8th most-seen of the 16 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
July
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Montpellier Snake in Porto on a given day, against under 5% in February, April and October–November, the lowest months. That is one of Porto's driest months, with about 15 mm of rain against 140 mm in January.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Montpellier Snake sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 5 cities where we can rate Montpellier Snake sightings, Porto ranks 3rd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Valencia (Spain, about 10%) and Barcelona (Spain, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Montpellier Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Porto (25 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
