CreatureData

False smooth snake

Macroprotodon cucullatus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827)

Status not recordedsnakes

The false smooth snake (Macroprotodon cucullatus) is a species in the family Colubridae, order Squamata. Recorded adults weigh about 16.7 g, reach 34.7 cm in length and live up to 5.9 years.

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Quick facts about the false smooth snake

Weight
16.7 gsrc for Weight
Length
34.7 cmsrc for Length
Lifespan
5.9 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
16 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrubland, woodlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
4 – 6src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
0.5 – 0.75src for Litters or clutches a year
Reproduction
Eggssrc for Reproduction
Active
At night (nocturnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the false smooth snake?

FALSE SMOOTH SNAKE · LENGTH 34.7 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 34.7 cm, the recorded maximum length of the false smooth snake is about 20% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Which animals does the false smooth snake eat?

Species recorded in published studies and collections.

Recorded prey of the false smooth snake

10 on record

  1. Large Psammodromus Psammodromus algirus4 sources
  2. Ocellated skink Chalcides ocellatus3 sources
  3. Salamanquesa Tarentola mauritanica3 sources
  4. Spiny-footed lizard Acanthodactylus erythrurus2 sources
  5. Iberian worm lizard Blanus cinereus2 sources
  6. Bedriaga's skink Chalcides bedriagai2 sources
  7. Turkish gecko Hemidactylus turcicus2 sources
  8. Algerian mouse Mus spretus2 sources
  9. Iberian wall lizard Podarcis hispanicus2 sources
  10. Italian wall lizard Podarcis siculus2 sources

Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).

References for these records
  • Distribution, variation and biology of Macroprotodon cucullatus (Reptilia, Colubridae, Boiginae). 1990. Annals of Carnegie Museum 59(4): 261-285
  • Intraspecific variation in the colubrid snake genus Macroprotodon. 1988. Herpetological Journal 1(6): 237-245
  • Kreiner G., 2007. The snakes of Europe. Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main.
  • Macroprotodon cucullatus on Lampedusa island (Mediterranean Sea): Notes on its natural history, morphometrics, and conservation. 2001. Amphibia-Reptilia 22(1): 129-134
  • CONTRIBUTO ALLA CONOSCENZA DEI SERPENTI DELLE ISOLE DEL CANALE DI SICILIA (Reptilia Serpentes). 2015. Naturalista Siciliano 39(1): 3-28
  • Diet of the false smooth snake, Macroprotodon cucullatus (Serpentes, Colubridae) in the western Mediterranean area. 1994. Herpetological Journal 4(3): 98-105

Where does the false smooth snake live?

Not recorded

Is the false smooth snake endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the false smooth snake classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classReptilia
  4. orderSquamata
  5. familyColubridae
  6. genusMacroprotodon
  7. SpeciesMacroprotodon cucullatus (Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1827)

Synonyms Coluber cucullatus, Lycognathus textilis

Other names and names in other languages (17)
  • culiebra de capiellu magrebinaAsturian
  • užovka kapucínskáCzech
  • Østlig HættesnogDanish
  • KapuzennatterGerman
  • KaputzennatterGerman
  • Culebra de CogullaSpanish
  • Culebra de cogulla orientalSpanish
  • huppukäärmeFinnish
  • Couleuvre à capuchon d'AlgérieFrench
  • Couleuvre à capuchon orientaleFrench
  • נחש-כיפה מזרחיHebrew
  • colubro dal cappuccioItalian
  • Moorse MutsslangDutch
  • MutsslangDutch
  • Cobra-de-capuzPortuguese
  • Капюшонный ужRussian
  • Mutslangroot

Catalogue of LifeiNaturalistITISWikidata

Relatives of the false smooth snake

Other species in the same genus Macroprotodon.

CompareFalse smooth snake vs False smooth snakeFalse smooth snake vs Abubaker's hooded snakeFalse smooth snake vs False smooth snake

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the false smooth snake?

An adult false smooth snake weighs 16.7 g and measures 34.7 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

How long does the false smooth snake live?

The false smooth snake has a recorded lifespan of 5.9 years.

What kind of animal is the false smooth snake?

The false smooth snake (Macroprotodon cucullatus) belongs to the family Colubridae in the order Squamata.

Which animals does the false smooth snake eat?

Animals recorded as prey of the false smooth snake include large psammodromus, ocellated skink, salamanquesa and spiny-footed lizard. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). False smooth snake (Macroprotodon cucullatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/macroprotodon-cucullatus

MLA

“False smooth snake (Macroprotodon cucullatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/macroprotodon-cucullatus.

BibTeX
@misc{macroprotodon_cucullatus_2026,
  title = {False smooth snake (Macroprotodon cucullatus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/macroprotodon-cucullatus},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}