Cobra

This article is about the snake. For other uses, see Cobra (disambiguation).

The Indian Cobra, Naja naja, is regarded by many as the archetypal cobra.

Cobra ( pronunciation (help·info)) is a venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra de capelo or cobra-de-capelo, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake".^[1] When disturbed, most of these snakes can rear up and spread their neck (or hood) in a characteristic threat display.

Cobra may refer to:

• any member of the genus Naja, also known as typical cobras (with the characteristic ability to raise the front quarters of their bodies off the ground and flatten their necks in a threatening gesture), a group of venomous elapids found in Africa and Asia
• spitting cobras, a subset of Naja species with the ability to eject venom from its fangs in self-defense
• any member of the genus Boulengerina, a.k.a. water cobras, a group of venomous elapids found in Africa
• any member of the genus Aspidelaps, a.k.a. shield-nose cobras or coral snakes, a group of venomous elapids found in Africa
• any member of the genus Pseudohaje, a.k.a. tree cobras, a group of venomous elapids found in Africa
• Paranaja multifasciata, a.k.a. the burrowing cobra, a venomous elapid species found in Africa
• Ophiophagus hannah, a.k.a. the king cobra, a venomous elapid species found in India and southern Asia
• Hemachatus haemachatus, a.k.a. the ringhals or ring-necked spitting cobra, a venomous elapid species found in Africa
• Micrurus fulvius, a.k.a. the American cobra or eastern coral snake, a venomous elapid species found in the southeastern United States
• Hydrodynastes gigas, a.k.a. the false water cobra, a mildly venomous colubrid species found in South America
• a taxonomic synonym for the genus Bitis, a.k.a. puff adders, a group of venomous vipers found in Africa and in the south of the Arabian Peninsula

References

1. ^ Oxford. 1991. The Compact Oxford English Dictionary. Second Edition. Clarendon Press, Oxford. ISBN 0-19-861258-3.

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