cobra

Any of several poisonous snakes, especially the genus Naja, of the family Elapidae, found in Africa and southern Asia, species of which can grow from 1 m/3 ft to over 4.3 m/14 ft. The neck stretches into a hood when the snake is alarmed. Cobra venom contains nerve toxins powerful enough to kill humans.

The Indian cobra Naja naja is about 1.5 m/5 ft long, and found over most of southern Asia. Some individuals have ‘spectacle’ markings on the hood. The hamadryad N. hannah of southern and southeast Asia can be 4.3 m/14 ft or more, and eats snakes. The ringhals Hemachatus hemachatus of South Africa and the black-necked cobra N. nigricollis, of the African savannah are both about 1 m/3 ft long. Both are able to spray venom towards the eyes of an attacker. A species of cobra, Naja manadalayensis, was identified in Myanmar in 2000. It is a ‘spitting’ cobra (able to project its venom). This makes a total of four African species and six Asian.