Malpolon monspessulanus
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
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 Sierra de Guadarrama National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Montpellier Snake sighting in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, based on 14 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 16th most-seen of the 18 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April–July, September and November
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Montpellier Snake in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August, October and December–March, the lowest months.
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.
4th of 5
Of the 5 parks where we can rate Montpellier Snake sightings, Sierra de Guadarrama National Park ranks 4th at about 10%. The best odds are in Cévennes National Park (France, about 20%), Sierra Nevada National Park (Spain, about 20%) and Doñana National Park (Spain, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Montpellier Snake is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Sierra de Guadarrama National Park (14 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
