Naja annulifera PETERS, 1854
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Naja annulifera?
Naja annulifera
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| Higher Taxa | Elapidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Snouted Cobra, Banded Cobra |
| Synonym | Naja haje var. annulifera PETERS 1854: 624 Naia haie — BOULENGER 1887: 179 (part) Naia haie — BOULENGER 1896: 374 (part) Naja nigricollis — CURTIS 1911: pl. xvi (not REINHARDT) Naja haje haje — BOGERT 1943: 288 & 64 (part) (not LINNAEUS) Naja haje annulifera — BRANCH 1981: 24 Naja haje annulifera — AUERBACH 1987: 196 Naja haje annulifera — WELCH 1994: 91 Naja haje annulifera — BOYCOTT 1992 Naja annulifera — BROADLEY 1995 Naja (Uraeus) annulifera — WALLACH et al. 2009 Uraeus annuliferus — WALLACH et al. 2014: 762 Naja annulifera — BATES et al. 2014: 403 Naja annulifera — PIETERSEN et al. 2021 |
| Distribution | Zambia (Gwembe valley = middle Zambezi), S Malawi, Zimbabwe, C/S Mozambique (on the coast not known north of Quelimane - Kelly 1991), E Botswana, NE South Africa, Swaziland. Type locality: “Tette” [Mozambique] |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: ZMB 2813 (Naja haje var. annulifera PETERS 1854) Holotype: ZMB 2820 (unlocated) [Naja haje var. viridis PETERS 1873] |
| Diagnosis | Colouration. Juveniles are yellow or greenish yellow above, usually with dark scale margins that may form irregular transverse lines, there is usually a broad black band encircling the neck; yellow below. Adults gradually darken to grey-brown or black, sometimes with lighter mottling or scattered white spots, but a few remain yellow or orange, the dark band on the back of the neck fades out. The venter is usually yellow, heavily blotched with dark brown, and the throat band, covering ca. ventrals 12- 2, becomes purple-brown, but is often obscured by general darkening posteriorly, becoming uniform blue-black on the tail. A banded phase occurs throughout the range of the species, the banding is hardly discernable in hatchlings, but by the time a snake attains a length of 600 mm, it is black with seven to nine yellow bands on the body and one or two on the tail. The light bands are usually about half the width of the dark ones and may be divided by a narrow black transverse line. The yellow bands may encircle the body, but are frequently mottled with black ventrally. A few specimens have a single yellow band on the neck and several more caudad. One skin examined (from Mutare) had a series of yellow dorsal blotches instead of bands. One Bulawayo cobra had the broad bands golden-brown instead of black. This banded phase has been recorded in 27% of males and 18% of females. Description (species): Branch 1981: 24 |
| Comment | Venomous! Subspecies: Naja annulifera anchietae BOCAGE 1879 has been elevated to species status by BROADLEY & WÜSTER (2004): Reproduction: oviparous. Distribution: For a map see Sindaco et al. 2013. |
| Etymology | Named after the diminutive form (“annul-”) of Latin “anus” = ring and the verb “fero, ferre” = carry. |
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