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Naja is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of venomous elapid snake
Snake

Snakes are elongate legless carnivore reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears....
s. They are the most recognized, and most widespread group of snakes commonly known as cobras, though there are several other genera which also make use of that common name. The genus Naja consists of from 20 to 22 species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
, but has undergone several taxonomic
Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification. The word comes from the Greek language ', taxis and ', nomos .Taxonomies, or taxonomic schemes, are composed of taxonomic units known as taxa , or kinds of things that are arranged frequently in a hierarchical structure....
 revisions in recent years, so sources vary greatly. They range throughout Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, the Middle-East, India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, southeastern Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
, and Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
.

Old Indian naga, cognate with English 'snake', Germanic: *snek-a-, Proto-IE
Proto-Indo-European language

The Proto-Indo-European language is the unattested, linguistic reconstruction common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans....
: *(s)neg-o-.

aja species are long, relatively slender snakes.






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Encyclopedia


Naja is a genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 of venomous elapid snake
Snake

Snakes are elongate legless carnivore reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears....
s. They are the most recognized, and most widespread group of snakes commonly known as cobras, though there are several other genera which also make use of that common name. The genus Naja consists of from 20 to 22 species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
, but has undergone several taxonomic
Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification. The word comes from the Greek language ', taxis and ', nomos .Taxonomies, or taxonomic schemes, are composed of taxonomic units known as taxa , or kinds of things that are arranged frequently in a hierarchical structure....
 revisions in recent years, so sources vary greatly. They range throughout Africa
Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
, the Middle-East, India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, southeastern Asia
Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent. It covers 8.6% of the Earth's total surface area and, with over 4 billion people, it contains more than 60% of the world's current human population....
, and Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
.

Etymology

From Old Indian naga, cognate with English 'snake', Germanic: *snek-a-, Proto-IE
Proto-Indo-European language

The Proto-Indo-European language is the unattested, linguistic reconstruction common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans....
: *(s)neg-o-.

Description

Naja species are long, relatively slender snakes. Most species are capable of attaining lengths of 6' or more. All have a characteristic ability to raise the front quarter of their body off the ground and flatten their necks to appear larger to a potential predator.

Species

SpeciesAuthoritySubsp.*Common nameGeographic range
N. anchietaeBocage
José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage

Jos? Vicente Barbosa du Bocage was a Portuguese zoologist and politician. He was the curator of Zoology at the Museum of Natural History in Lisbon....
, 1879		0Anchieta's cobra Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, eastern Zimbabwe
N. annuliferaPeters
Wilhelm Peters

Wilhelm Karl Hartwich Peters was a Germany natural history and explorer.He was assistant to Johannes Peter M?ller and later curator of the Berlin Zoological Museum....
, 1854		0Snouted cobra Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe
N. ashei
Naja ashei

Naja ashei is an African snake. It is the world's largest species of spitting cobra and one of the most venomous snakes known. In addition to the dry lowlands of northern and eastern Kenya, it is found in similar habitats in northeastern Uganda, southern Ethiopia and southern Somalia....
Wüster
Wolfgang Wüster

Wolfgang W?ster is a herpetology and lecturer in zoology at the University of Wales.W?ster attained his bachelor's degree at the University of Cambridge in 1985 and his doctorate at University of Aberdeen in 1990....
 and Broadley, 2007		0Ashe's cobraSouthern Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, eastern Uganda
N. atra
Naja atra

The Naja atra or the Chinese cobra is a species of cobra that lives in areas of Southeast Asia. The average adult length of a Chinese cobra is about 1.5 meters, or five feet....
Cantor
Theodore Edward Cantor

Theodore Edward Cantor was a Denmark physician, zoologist and botanist.Cantor worked for the British East India Company. He made natural history collections in Penang and Malacca....
, 1842		0Chinese cobraSouthern China, northern Vietnam
N. haje(Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus

Carl Linnaeus was a Sweden botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern alpha taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology....
, 1758)		2Egyptian cobraAlgeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, N Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Western Sahara, Yemen
N. kaouthia
Naja kaouthia

The monocled cobra, Naja kaouthia, is a species of cobra that has a circular mark behind the hood, unlike that of the Indian cobra ....
Lesson
René-Primevère Lesson

Ren? Primev?re Lesson was a France surgery and natural history.Lesson was born at Rochefort, and at the age of sixteen he entered the Naval Medical School there....
, 1831		0Monocled cobraBangladesh, Burma, Cambodia, southern China, eastern India, Laos, northwestern Malaysia, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam
N. katiensisAngel, 19220Mali cobraBenin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, Gambia, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo
N. mandalayensisSlowinski
Joseph Bruno Slowinski

Joseph Bruno "Joe" Slowinski, Ph.D was an United States herpetology who worked extensively with elapid snakes.He was born on November 15, 1962 in New York City, New York....
 & Wüster
Wolfgang Wüster

Wolfgang W?ster is a herpetology and lecturer in zoology at the University of Wales.W?ster attained his bachelor's degree at the University of Cambridge in 1985 and his doctorate at University of Aberdeen in 1990....
, 2000		0Mandalay spitting cobraBurma
N. melanoleucaHallowell, 18570Black and white cobra (Forest Cobra)Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of South Africa, Senegal, Sierra Leone, São Tomé (Gulf of Guinea), Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe
N. mossambicaPeters, 18540Mozambique spitting cobraExtreme SE Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Somalia, NE Namibia, Republic of South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania (including Pemba Island), Zambia, Zimbabwe
N. najaT(Linnaeus, 1758)0Indian cobraBangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
N. nigricinctaBogert
Charles Mitchill Bogert

Charles Mitchill Bogert was an United States herpetology, and curator of herpetology and researcher for the American Museum of Natural History....
, 1940		1Zebra spitting cobraAngola, Namibia, South Africa
N. nigricollisReinhardt
Johan Reinhardt

Johannes Christopher Hagemann Reinhardt was a professor in zoology at the University of Copenhagen.Born in Rendalen parish in Norway, his father, Johannes Henrik Reinhardt, was a priest, and his mother, Johanne Elisabeth Mommesen, was from Holmestrand ....
, 1843		0Black-necked spitting cobraAngola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire, except in the center), Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Somalia, Togo, Uganda, Zambia
N. nivea(Linnaeus, 1758)0Cape cobraBotswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa
N. nubiaeWüster & Broadly, 20030Nubian spitting cobraChad, Egypt, Eritrea, Niger, Sudan
N. oxiana
Naja oxiana

Central Asian Cobra Naja oxiana is a species of venomous snake found in Central Asia....
(Eichwald
Karl Eichwald

Karl Eduard von Eichwald was a Russian geologist and physician.Eichwald was a Baltic German born at Mitau in Duchy of Courland. He became doctor of medicine and professor of zoology in Kazan in 1823; four years later professor of zoology and comparative anatomy at Vilnius; in 1838 professor of zoology, mineralogy and medicine at St....
, 1831)		0Central Asian cobraAfghanistan, India, Iran, Pakistan, Tadzhikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
N. pallidaBoulenger
George Albert Boulenger

George Albert Boulenger was a Belgium-United Kingdom zoologist....
, 1896		0Red spitting cobraDjibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania
N. philippinensisTaylor
Edward Harrison Taylor

Edward Harrison Taylor was an United States herpetologist from Kansas.He was born in Maysville, Missouri and studied at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in 1912....
, 1922		0Philippine cobraPhilippines (Luzon, Mindoro)
N. sagittiferaWall
Frank Wall

Frank Wall was a physician and Herpetology who lived in Sri Lanka and India.Wall was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka . His father worked there and was responsible for initiating the study of natural history on the island....
, 1913		0Andaman cobraIndia (Andaman Islands)
N. samarensisPeters, 18610Peters' cobraPhilippines (Mindanao, Bohol, Leyte, Samar, Camiguin)
N. siamensisLaurenti
Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti

Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti was an Austrian natural history.Laurenti was the author of Specimen Medicum, Exhibens Synopsin Reptilium Emendatam cum Experimentis circa Venena on the poisonous function of reptiles and amphibians....
, 1768		0Indo-Chinese spitting cobra (Black and White Spitting Cobra)Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam
N. sputatrixF. Boie
Friedrich Boie

Friedrich Boie was a Germany scientist and brother of Heinrich Boie. He was born at Meldorf in Holstein and died at Kiel.Boie was the author of Bemerkungen ?ber Merrem's Versuch eines Systems der Amphibien ....
, 1827		0Indonesian cobraIndonesia (Java, lesser Sunda Islands)
N. sumatranaMüller
Johannes Peter Müller

Johannes Peter M?ller , was a Germany physiologist, comparative anatomy, and ichthyology not only known for his discoveries but also for his ability to synthesize knowledge....
, 1887		0Equatorial spitting cobra (Golden spitting cobra)Brunei, Indonesia (Sumatra, Borneo, Bangka, Belitung), Malaysia, Philippines (Palawan), southern Thailand
*) Not including the nominate subspecies.
T) Type species
Type species

In taxonomy, a type species is the species that originally defined a genus . It is an individual specimen that fixes the name of a genus . Two different definitions are used interchangeably, in a general term and a botanical term....
.

Taxonomy

Several recent taxonomic developments have taken place beyond the current listing in ITIS:

  • Naja anchietae (Bocage
    José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage

    Jos? Vicente Barbosa du Bocage was a Portuguese zoologist and politician. He was the curator of Zoology at the Museum of Natural History in Lisbon....
    , 1879). A.k.a. Anchieta's cobra. Regarded as a subspecies of N. haje by Mertens (1937) and of N. annulifera by Broadley (1995). Regarded as a full species by Broadley and Wüster (2004).
  • Naja ashei
    Naja ashei

    Naja ashei is an African snake. It is the world's largest species of spitting cobra and one of the most venomous snakes known. In addition to the dry lowlands of northern and eastern Kenya, it is found in similar habitats in northeastern Uganda, southern Ethiopia and southern Somalia....
     Broadley and Wüster, 2007. A.k.a. Ashe’s spitting cobra. This is a newly described species found in Africa
    Africa

    Africa is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km? including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area....
    .
  • Naja nigricincta Bogert, 1940. This was long regarded as a subspecies of Naja nigricollis, but was recently found to be a full species (with N. nigricincta woodi as a subspecies)

Venom

All species in the genus Naja are capable of delivering a fatal bite in a human. Most species have strongly neurotoxic
Neurotoxin

A neurotoxin is a toxin that acts specifically on nerve cells , usually by interacting with membrane proteins such as ion channels.Some sources are more general, and define the effect of neurotoxins as occurring at nerve tissue....
 venom, which attacks the nervous system, causing paralysis, but many also have hemotoxic
Hemotoxin

Hemotoxins, haemotoxins or hematotoxins are toxins that destroy red blood cells , disrupt blood thrombus, and/or cause Organ degeneration and generalized Biological tissue damage....
 features which causes swelling, necrosis
Necrosis

Necrosis is the name given to premature death of cell s and living biological tissue. Necrosis is caused by external factors, such as infection, toxins, or trauma....
 and has a significant anticoagulant effect.

Several Naja species, referred to as spitting cobra
Spitting cobra

A spitting cobra is one of several species of cobras that have the ability to eject venom from their fangs when defending themselves against predators....
s, have developed a specialized venom delivery mechanism, in which their front fangs, instead of releasing venom through the tips, as a hypodermic needle
Hypodermic needle

A hypodermic needle is a hollow needle commonly used with a syringe to Injection substances into the body. They may also be used to take liquid samples from the body, for example taking blood from a vein in venipuncture....
, have a rifled
Rifling

Rifling is the helix-shaped pattern in the Gun barrel of a gun or firearm, which imparts a spin to a projectile around its long axis. This spin serves to gyroscope stabilize the projectile, improving its Aerodynamics stability and accuracy....
 opening in the front surface, which allows the snake to propel the venom out of the mouth. While typically referred to as spitting, the action is more like squirting. The range and accuracy with which they can shoot their venom varies from species to species, but it is used primarily as a defense mechanism. Once sprayed onto a victim's skin, the venom acts as a severe irritant. If it is introduced to the eye, it can cause a severe burning sensation and temporary or even permanent blindness if not cleaned out immediately and thoroughly.

See also

  • Cobra
    Cobra

    A cobra is a snake and usually a venomous member of the family Elapidae . The name is short for cobra de capello , which is Portuguese language for "snake with hood," or "hood-snake." When disturbed, most of these snakes can rear up and spread their neck in a characteristic threat display....


External links