Anchieta's Cobra

Anchieta's cobra (Naja anchietae), sometimes referred to as the Angolan cobra, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to Southern Africa.

Taxonomy

Anchieta's cobra was first described by Portuguese zoologist José Vicente Barbosa du Bocage in 1879. The specific epithet, anchietae, refers to José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta, a Portuguese explorer of Africa.

Along with the snouted cobra (N. haje annulifera), Anchieta's cobra (N. haje anchietae) was formerly regarded as subspecies of the Egyptian cobra (Naja haje), but have since been proven to be distinct species. Based on analysis of character morphology, Broadley (1995) raised Naja annulifera to species level, with Naja annulifera anchietae as a subspecies. More research by Broadley & Wüster (2004) using both analysis of morphology character and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) further confirmed that Naja annulifera was a distinct species, but data obtained also showed that Naja anchietae to be a distinct species of its own. Further research by Wallach et al. (2009) placed the Egyptian cobra (N. haje) complex (African non-spitting cobras) into the subgenus Uraeus. The group is distinguished from all other cobras due to the presence of a row of subocular scales separating the eye from the supralabials. Although the Cape cobra (Naja nivea) lacks this feature, it too was placed within the subgenus Uraeus. The below cladogram illustrates the taxonomy and relationships among species of Naja:

Description

Anchieta's cobra is a moderately sized species of cobra that has a moderately slender body and a medium length tail. This cobra species can easily be identified by its relatively large and quite impressive hood, which it expands when threatened. It has a broad and flattened head, which is slightly distinct from the neck. The snout is rounded, similar to that of the snouted cobra (N. annulifera). The eye is medium in size with a round pupil. Adults average around 1.0 metre (3.3 ft) in total length (including tail), but it is not uncommon to find specimens measuring between 1.2 metres (3.9 ft) and 1.8 metres (5.9 ft) in length. Maximum size attained by this species is just a bit over 2.0 metres (6.6 ft), but these are rare cases. The longest recorded male was 2.31 metres (7.6 ft) long and was caught in Windhoek, Namibia. The longest recorded female was slightly shorter at 2.18 metres (7.2 ft) and was found 25 kilometres (16 mi) south of Shakawe, Botswana. There is no sexual dimorphism in this species of cobra, with males and females growing to similar sizes. Although like other cobra species, males will normally have larger heads and longer tails than females.