Cobra

Cobra Informal name for various snakes Temporal range: Miocene–Holocene
	Indian cobra (Naja naja)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Clade:	Ophidia
Suborder:	Serpentes
Subdivisions
	Genus Naja of family Elapidae; Several species within other genera of Elapidae; Species Hydrodynastes gigas of family Colubridae;

Cobra is the common name of various venomous snakes, most of which belong to the genus Naja.^[1]

Many cobras are capable of rearing upwards and producing a hood when threatened.^[a]

Other snakes known as "cobras"

While the members of the genus Naja constitute the true cobras, the name cobra is also applied to these other genera and species:

The rinkhals, ringhals or ring-necked spitting cobra (Hemachatus haemachatus) so-called for its neck band as well as its habit of rearing upwards and producing a hood when threatened^[2]
The king cobra or hamadryad (Ophiophagus hannah)^[3]
The two species of tree cobras, Goldie's tree cobra (Pseudohaje goldii) and the black tree cobra (Pseudohaje nigra)^[4]
The two species of shield-nosed cobras, the Cape coral snake (Aspidelaps lubricus) and the shield-nosed cobra (Aspidelaps scutatus)^[4]^: p.76
The two species of black desert cobras or desert black snakes, Walterinnesia aegyptia and Walterinnesia morgani, neither of which rears upwards and produces a hood when threatened^[4]^: p.65
The eastern coral snake or American cobra (Micrurus fulvius), which also does not rear upwards and produce a hood when threatened^[4]^: p.30

The false water cobra (Hydrodynastes gigas) is the only "cobra" species that is not a member of the Elapidae. It does not rear upwards, produces only a slight flattening of the neck when threatened, and is only mildly venomous.^[4]^: p.53

Notes

^ Two kinds of non-venomous snake, the hognose snakes and the striped keelback, also rear upwards and produce hoods but are not considered "cobras"; likewise, some venomous elapid snakes, such as the black mamba, are also capable of producing hoods but are not called "cobras".

References

^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cobra" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 613.
^ Wolfgang Bücherl; Eleanor E. Buckley; Venancio Deulofeu (17 September 2013). Venomous Animals and Their Venoms: Venomous Vertebrates. Elsevier. p. 492. ISBN 978-1-4832-6363-2.
^ United States. Department of the Navy. Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (2013). Venomous Snakes of the World: A Manual for Use by U. S. Amphibious Forces. Skyhorse. p. 217. ISBN 978-1-62087-623-7.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Mark O'Shea (20 February 2008). Venomous Snakes of the World. New Holland. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-84773-086-2.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

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[2] Two kinds of non-venomous snake, the hognose snakes and the striped keelback, also rear upwards and produce hoods but are not considered "cobras"; likewise, some venomous elapid snakes, such as the black mamba, are also capable of producing hoods but are not called "cobras".

[1] Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Cobra" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 6 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 613.

[BücherlBuckley2013-3] Wolfgang Bücherl; Eleanor E. Buckley; Venancio Deulofeu (17 September 2013). Venomous Animals and Their Venoms: Venomous Vertebrates. Elsevier. p. 492. ISBN 978-1-4832-6363-2.

[Surgery2013-4] United States. Department of the Navy. Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (2013). Venomous Snakes of the World: A Manual for Use by U. S. Amphibious Forces. Skyhorse. p. 217. ISBN 978-1-62087-623-7.

[O'Shea2008-5] Mark O'Shea (20 February 2008). Venomous Snakes of the World. New Holland. p. 74. ISBN 978-1-84773-086-2.^{[permanent dead link‍]}

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