Cobra

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The Indian cobra, Naja naja, shown here with its hood expanded, is often regarded as the archetypal cobra.


The Indian cobra, Naja naja.

Cobra ( pronunciation (helpinfo)) is the Portuguese word for "snake". In English and in some other
languages, it has been adopted as the name for any of various species of venomous snakes. Most
of those species are in the family Elapidae, all of which are venomous. Most of them can spread
their neck ribs to form a flattened, widened hood.
Not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even in
the family Elapidae. The name "cobra" is short for cobra de capeloor cobra-de-capelo, which
is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake".
[1]
In some modern languages, such
as Afrikaans, the other part of the Portuguese name was adopted, and the predominant name for a
cobra in Afrikaans is "kapel".
[2][3]
When disturbed, most of these snakes rear up and spread their
necks (or hoods) in a characteristic threat display, making them a favorite of snake
charmers because of the dramatic effect. Long ago, snake charming used to be a religious ritual,
though nowadays it has become an entertainment. Cobras, which may live up to 20 years, are found
from southern Africa, through southern Asia, to some of the islands ofSoutheast Asia.
Cobra may refer to:
Naja, also known as typical or "true" cobras (known for raising the
front part of the body and flattening the neck in a warning
signal when alarmed), a group of elapids found in Africa and Asia.
They include over 20 species, including Naja nivea, the cape, a
moderately sized, highly venomous cobra inhabiting a wide variety
of biomes across southern Africa, Cleopatra's "asp" (the Egyptian
cobra, Naja haje) and the Asiatic spectacled cobra Naja
naja and monocled cobra, Naja kaouthia.
Spitting cobras, a subset of Naja species with the ability to squirt
venom from their fangs in self-defense
Hemachatus haemachatus, ringhals, rinkhals or ring-necked spitting
cobra, a species of the Elapidae found in Africa
Any member of the genus Boulengerina, the water cobras, a group
of Elapidae found in Africa (now regarded as species in the
genus Naja)
Paranaja multifasciata, the burrowing cobra, an African species of
the Elapidae (now regarded as a species of Naja)
Any member of the genus Aspidelaps, the shield cobras,
[4]
an
African genus in the Elapidae
Any species of Pseudohaje, the tree cobras, a genus of African
Elapidae
Ophiophagus hannah, the king cobra, an elapid found in parts of
India and southern Asia
Micrurus fulvius, the American cobra or eastern coral snake, a
species of the Elapidae found in the southeastern United States
Hydrodynastes gigas, the false water cobra, a mildly venomous
member of the family Colubridae. It is indigenous to parts of South
America and forms a hood if disturbed, though the hood is longer
and narrower than those of "true" cobras in the Elapidae.
Not a common name, but a highly obsolete synonym for the
genus Bitis, the adders, a group of venomous vipersfound in Africa
and parts of the Middle East.
Most so-called, and all "true", species of cobras belong to the family Elapidae. Many other
notoriously venomous snake species, including mambas, sea snakes, and coral snakes, also belong
to Elapidae. The genus Naja contains over twenty species of cobras and is the most widespread and
widely recognized genus of cobras, sometimes called the "true" cobras. Members of the genus
inhabit a range from Africa through the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia to Indonesia.
Although the king cobra, Ophiophagus hannah, the worlds longest venomous snake, is a member of
the Elapidae and can raise a rather narrow hood if disturbed, it is not in the genus Naja, and,
accordingly, is not a true cobra.
The other cobra of Asia is known as the Asian, Indian or Spectacled cobra due to the eyeglass-
shaped pattern on its skin. The hood of the Asian cobra is larger than that of the king cobra and is
usually yellow or brown with a black and white spectacle pattern on top and two black and white
spots on the lower surface.
The Rinkhals, Hemachatus haemachatus, also called a spitting cobra, is endemic to southern Africa.
It also is not in the genus Naja
Although the bites of some species are extremely dangerous because of their potent neurotoxins,
cobras have not been shown to attack people unprovoked. Cobras almost never attack without a
threat display, which typically involves raising the hood and hissing.
[citation needed]

Various species of cobras prey mainly on other snakes, birds and small mammals, while its main
natural predators in turn are other snakes, birds of prey, and small predatory mammals such as
mongooses.
[citation needed]

Although most cobras do not make nests, some species protect their eggs until they hatch
(incubation typically taking around 60 days).
[citation needed]

References[edit]
1. Jump up^ Oxford. 1991. The Compact Oxford English Dictionary.
Second Edition. Clarendon Press, Oxford. ISBN 0-19-861258-3.
2. Jump up^ Boshoff, S. P. E.; Nienaber, G. S.
(1967). AfrikaanseEtimologie. Pretoria: Die Suid-Afrikaanse
Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns.
3. Jump up^ Bosman, D. B.; Van der Merwe, I. W.; Hiemstra, L. W.
(1984). Tweetalige Woordeboek Afrikaans-Engels. Tafelberg-
uitgewers. ISBN 0-624-00533-X.
4. Jump up^ Broadley, Donald G.; Andrew S. Baldwin (2006).
"Taxonomy, natural history and zoogeography of the Southern
African shield cobras, genus Aspidelaps (Serpentes:
Elapidae)". Herpetological Natural History 9.


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Categories:
Set indices on snakes
Colubridae by common name
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