Description ²

INTRODUCTION

• Venomous Elapid
• Largest Venomous Snake and not a "True" Cobra.
• Threatened by habitat destruction in SE Asia.
• Neurotoxic Venom : Paralyzes muscles leading to respiratory and cardiac failure.

IDENTIFICATION

• Brownish-black body with light cross-bands along body that slightly fade with age.
• Display hood when threatened and have a very large head of golden shade .
• Have large occipitial scales behind head unlike other cobras.
• Pale yellowish shade on it's ventral part of the body.
• Very heavy-bodied and adults average 10 feet with some growing 15+ feet.

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

• Mostly Western Ghats and Northeast India . Sometimes found in extreme northern parts of India like western Himalayas.
• Inhabit Tropical forests, Bamboo Thickets and sometimes agricultural land mostly nearby rainforests.
• Females build nests using leaf litter to house eggs and guard it aggressively. Only snakes to make nests.
• Rarely sighted as they avoid encounters with humans and move away quickly.

DIET AND BEHAVIOR

• Majority of diet consists of other Snakes. Notoriously known as snake eaters.
• Occasionally feed on Monitor lizards and birds when food is scarce.
  
• Diurnal as it hunts during the day and rarely seen at night.
  
• When threatened, they raise their hood and let a "growling" hiss with their mouth wide open.
• Can lift their body a very significant portion off the ground and lunge towards a threat.
• Extremely smart in comparison to other snakes. Aware of surroundings and plans it's attacks.

Fontes e Créditos

1. (c) Vinay Gogula, todos os direitos reservados, uploaded by Vinay Gogula
2. (c) Vinay Gogula, alguns direitos reservados (CC BY-SA)

Mais informações

• BioDiversity4All taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HerpMapper
• Snake Database
• The Reptile Database
• VertNet

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