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Naja nivea (LINNAEUS, 1758)

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Higher TaxaElapidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Cape Cobra
G: Kap-Kobra 
SynonymColuber niveus LINNAEUS 1758: 223
Vipera (Echidna) flava MERREM 1820
Naja nivea BOIE 1827
Naja gutturalis SMITH 1838: 92
Naja intermixta DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854: 1298
Naja haje var. capensis JAN 1863: 119
Naia flava BOULENGER 1887
Naja flava STERNFELD 1910
Naja nivea — FITZSIMONS & BRAIN 1958
Naja nivea — HARDING & WELCH 1980
Naja nivea — BRANCH 1981: 27
Naja nivea — AUERBACH 1987: 197
Naja nivea — WELCH 1994: 93
Naja (Uraeus) nivea — WALLACH et al. 2009
Uraeus niveus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 763
Naja nivea — BATES et al. 2014: 406
Naja nivea — SCHLEICHER 2020 
DistributionC/S Namibia, SW Botswana, W Republic of South Africa, Lesotho

Type locality: “Africa”  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: NRM (NHRM) 91 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (1275 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Variation: According to FITZSIMONS & BRAIN 1958 found in 3 color forms: uniform honey yellow, reddish-brown mottled, uniform yellow to reddish-brown.

Diet: Feeds mainly on small rodents, but will also take frogs and toads and small birds.

Synonymy partly after BROADLEY & WÜSTER 2004. 
References
  • Auerbach, R.D. 1987. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Botswana. Mokwepa Consultants, Botswana, 295 pp.
  • Barends, J. M., & Maritz, B. 2021. Specialized morphology, not relatively large head size, facilitates competition between a small‐bodied specialist and large‐bodied generalist competitors. Journal of Zoology - get paper here
  • Bates, M.F.; Branch, W.R., Bauer, A.M.; Burger, M., Marais, J.; Alexander, G.J. & de Villliers, M.S. (eds.) 2014. Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland. Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, 512 pp.
  • Bauer, A.M., and Branch, W.R. 2003. The herpetofauna of the Richtersveld National Park, Northern Cape Province, Republic of South Africa. Herpetological Natural History 8: 111-160 [2001]
  • Berkheimer, R. 1996. Want to get lens-to-nose with venomous snakes? Reptile & Amphibian Magazine (Feb 1996): 66-71
  • BOURQUIN, O. & V. GRUENER 2017. A NOTE ON THE HERPETOFAUNA OF MODISA CAMP (BOTSWANA) AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. African Herp News (64): 9-26 - get paper here
  • Branch, W. R. 1981. The venomous snakes of southern Africa 2. Elapidae and Hydrophidae. Bull. Maryland Herp. Soc. 17 (1): 1-47 - get paper here
  • Branch, W. R. 1998. Naja nivea Cape Cobra. Size. African Herp News (27): 17-18 - get paper here
  • Branch, W.R.; Haagner, G.V.; Hall, R. 1993. Life History Notes - Naja nivea. J. Herp. Assoc. Africa (42): 40-40 - get paper here
  • Branch, William R. 1993. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 144 S.
  • Broadley, D. & Blaylock 2013. The Snakes of Zimbabwe and Botswana. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 387 pp. [book review in Sauria 35 (2): 59 and Copeia 2014: 388] - get paper here
  • Broadley, D.G. 1968. A review of the African cobras of the genus Naja (Serpentes: Elapinae). Arnoldia (Rhodesia) (ser. 3) 29: 1-14
  • BROADLEY, D.G. & W. WÜSTER 2004. A review of the southern African ‘non-spitting’ cobras (Serpentes: Elapidae: Naja). African Journal of Herpetology 53 (2):101-122 - get paper here
  • Cimatti, E. 2007. Namibia - Introduction to a vast territory. Reptilia (GB) (50): 58-67 - get paper here
  • Conradie, Werner; Brian Reeves , Neil Brown, & Jan A. Venter 2016. Herpetofauna of the Oviston, Commando Drift and Tsolwana nature reserves in the arid interior of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Indago 32: 81-98 - get paper here
  • Cunningham, Michael, Catherine Lys Henderson and Krystal A. Tolley 2003. Herpetological Surveys. Cockscomb (T'Numqa) Mountain. African Herp News (36):22-25 - get paper here
  • Dobiey, M. & Vogel, G. 2007. Venomous Snakes of Africa - Giftschlangen Afrikas. Edition Chimaira, Terralog 15, 150 pp. - get paper here
  • Fitzsimons, V.F.M.; Brain, C.K. 1958. A Short account of the Reptiles of the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park. Koedoe, 1(1): 99-104 - get paper here
  • Fraser M. 2023. Reptiles and Amphibians of the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, Western Cape, South Africa. Biodiversity Observations 13: 162–185. 14 March 2023 - get paper here
  • GOLDBERG, S.R. 2009. Naja nivea (Linneaus, 1758) Reproduction. African Herp News (50): 28 - get paper here
  • Goldberg, S.R. & BURSEY, C.R. 2009. Naja nivea (Linneaus, 1758) Endoparasites. African Herp News (50): 29-30 - get paper here
  • Haagner, G.V.; Branch, W.R. 1996. Life History Notes - Naja nivea. African Herp News (25): 42-42 - get paper here
  • Herrmann, H.-W.; W.R. Branch 2013. Fifty years of herpetological research in the Namib Desert and Namibia with an updated and annotated species checklist. Journal of Arid Environments 93: 94–115 - get paper here
  • Hörold, Ralf 2019. Die echten Kobras und ihre Gifte Ophidia 13 (1): 18-26
  • Layloo, Inshaaf; Caitlin Smith & Bryan Maritz 2017. Diet and feeding in the Cape Cobra, Naja nivea. African Journal of Herpetology 66 (2): 147-153 - get paper here
  • Linnaeus, C. [= Linné, C. von] 1758. Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii, Holmiæ. 10th Edition: 824 pp. - get paper here
  • O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here
  • Phelps, Tony. 2007. Observations of the Cape cobra, Naja nivea (Serpentes: Elapidae) in the DeHoop Nature Reserve, Western Cape Province, South Africa. Herpetological Bulletin 99: 29-35 - get paper here
  • Phelps, Tony. 2007. Naja nivea Maximum size. African Herp News (42): 22-23 - get paper here
  • Post, Yorick; Jens Puschhof, Joep Beumer, Harald M. Kerkkamp, Merijn A.G. de Bakker, Julien Slagboom, Buys de Barbanson, Nienke R. Wevers, Xandor M. Spijkers, Thomas Olivier,<br>Taline D. Kazandjian, Stuart Ainsworth, Carmen Lopez Iglesias, Willine J 2020. Snake Venom Gland Organoids. Cell 180, 233–247 - get paper here
  • Reeves, B., Brooke, C. F., Venter, J. A., & Conradie, W. 2022. The Reptiles and Amphibians of the Mpofu-Fort Fordyce Nature Reserve Complex in the Winterberg Mountains, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. African Journal of Wildlife Research, 52(1) - get paper here
  • Schleicher, Alfred 2015. Reptilien Namibias. Namibia Scientific  Society, 276 pp.
  • Schleicher, Alfred 2020. Reptiles of Namibia. Kuiseb Publishers, Windhoek, Namibia, 271 pp.
  • Schmidt, Dieter 2015. Ophiophagie bei Schlangen im Terrarium. Terraria-Elaphe 2015 (5): 72-73 - get paper here
  • Smith, A. 1838. Contributions to the Natural History of Southern Africa. Art. VIII. Mag. Nat. Hist., London, 2 (14): 92-94
  • Spawls, S., Branch, B. 1995. The Dangerous Snakes of Africa. Blandford, London, 192 pp.
  • Tolley KA, Telford NS, Makhubo BG, Power RJ, Alexander GJ 2023. Filling the gap: Noteworthy herpetological discoveries in North West Province, South Africa. Zoosystematics and Evolution 99(1): 101-116 - get paper here
  • Trutnau, L. 1984. Erfahrungen bei der Pflege und Nachzucht von zwei afrikanischen Naja-Arten: der Schwarzweißen Hutschlange Naja melanoleuca HALLOWELL 1857 und der Kapkobra Naja nivea (LINNAEUS 1758). Herpetofauna 6 (31): 15-26 - get paper here
  • VISSER, J. 2012. Naja nivea Linaeus, 1758. African Herp News (56): 32-33 - get paper here
  • Wallach, V.; Wüster, W. & Broadley, D.G. 2009. In praise of subgenera: taxonomic status of cobras of the genus Naja Laurenti (Serpentes: Elapidae). Zootaxa 2236: 26–36 - get paper here
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
  • Winchell, S. 2011. Kobras. Reptilia (Münster) 16 (89): 16-22 - get paper here
  • WITBERG, M. 2011. Naja nivea (Linnaeus, 1758) Juvenile colouration. African Herp News (53): 46-47 - get paper here
  • Witberg, Marcel. 2007. Naja nivea Juvenile markings. African Herp News (42): 21-22 - get paper here
 
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