COBRA, common name for snakes in a family of poisonous snakes, known for
their
intimidating looks and deadly bite. Cobras are recognized by the hoods
that flare
when they are angry or disturbed, which are created by the extension of
the ribs
behind their heads. Like other members of their family, cobras have a pair
of short
fangs fixed in the front of the mouth. These reptiles are found throughout
the
Philippines, southern Asia, and Africa.
The king cobra is the world?s longest poisonous snake. It averages 3.7
m (12 ft) in
length but is known to grow to 5.5 m (18 ft). It is a thin snake, olive
or brown in
color, with bronze eyes. It is found in the Philippines, Malaysia, southern
China,
Burma, and the Malay Peninsula. The other cobra of Asia is known variously
as the
common, Asian, Indian, or spectacled cobra (due to the eyeglass-shaped
pattern on
its skin). It seldom reaches a length of more than 1.8 m (6 ft). The hood
of the Asian
cobra is, proportionately, much larger than that of the king cobra and
is usually
yellow to brown, with a black-and-white spectacle pattern on top and two
black and
white spots on the lower surface. This snake causes many deaths each year
in
India, where it is regarded with religious awe and seldom killed. It ranges
from the
eastern shore of the Caspian Sea to China and Malaysia.
Most cobras are natives of Africa. Among them is the spitting cobra, found
from
southern Egypt to the Transvaal. This snake can spray its venom from a
distance of
about 2.4 m (about 8 ft) into the eyes of its victims, blinding them temporarily
and
causing great pain. Varieties of the spitting cobra range in color from
dull black to
pink, the lighter-colored ones marked by a black band around the neck.
The
ringhals, a different type of spitting cobra confined to southern Africa,
is the smallest
of the cobras, reaching only about 1.2 m (about 4 ft) in length. It is
dark brown or
black with ridged, or keeled, scales and light rings on the neck. The asp,
or
Egyptian cobra, is found along the north coast of Africa.
The venom of cobras, called a neurotoxin, acts powerfully on the nervous
system.
With effective serum more available, however, the death rate from cobra
bites in
some areas of Asia has decreased. Cobra venom has been used for years in
medical research because it has an enzyme, lecithinase, that dissolves
cell walls
and membranes surrounding viruses.
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