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Walterinnesia aegyptia LATASTE, 1887

IUCN Red List - Walterinnesia aegyptia - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaElapidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Desert Cobra
G: Schwarze Wüsten-Kobra
E: Black Desert Cobra [morgani] 
SynonymWalterinnesia aegyptia LATASTE 1887
Naja morgani MOCQUARD 1905
Atractaspis wilsoni WALL 1908: 804
Naia morgani — BOULENGER 1920
Walterinnesia aegypti [sic] — HAAS 1957
Walterinnesia aegyptia — GASPERETTI 1988: 295
Walterinnesia aegyptia — WELCH 1994: 123
Walterinnesia aegyptia — VENCHI & SINDACO 2006
Walterinnesia morgani — NILSON & RASTEGAR-POUYANI 2007
Walterinnesia morgani — WALLACH et al. 2014: 793
Walterinnesia aegyptia — WALLACH et al. 2014: 793
Walterinnesia aegytia — ALBABA 2016 (in error)
Walterinnesia aegyptia morgani — RAJABIZADEH 2018
Walterinnesia aegyptia — BAR et al. 2021
Walterinnesia aegyptia — TRAPE 2023: 724 
DistributionS Israel, Palestine (West Bank), NW Saudi Arabia, W Jordan, Egypt (Sinai), Iraq,
Lebanon ?

Type locality: Cairo (purchased there)

morgani (invalid): Syria, W Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, S Turkey (Urfa), Kuwait, Qatar; Type locality: “Arabistan, Perse” = Khuzestan, Iran.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: BMNH 1946.1.21.42
Syntypes: MNHN-RA 1904.0562-0566 (5 specimens) [morgani] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (genus and species):
Definition: Venom fangs large, fixed in position; maxilla behind fangs without teeth; head covered above with nine large symmetrically arranged plates; loreal shield absent; anal plate divided; dorsal scales in more than 22 longitudinal rows, smooth anteriorly, keeled posteriorly and on tail. Ventrals 180-200; subcaudals 40-53, anteriormost shields (1-13) single, others divided. (Leviton et al. 1992)


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CommentVenomous!

Distribution: not in Syria fide MARTENS 1997. For a map see Sindaco et al. 2013 and Bar et al. 2021.

Venom toxins of this species are similar to those of Ophiophagus hannah, implicating a close phylogenetic relationship.

Synonymy: Naja morgani MOCQUARD 1905 has been considered as a synonym of Walterinnesia aegyptia, revalidated, and then synonymized again by Carranza et al. 2025.

Type species: Walterinnesia aegyptia LATASTE 1887 is the type species of the genus Walterinnesia LATASTE 1887.

Distribution: Nilson & Rastegar-Pouyani recognise the eastern form as a distinct species of Walterinnesia, Walterinnesia morgani (Mocquard, 1905). Not in the United Arab Emirates fide Burriel-Carranza et al. 2019. For maps see Sindaco et al. 2013, Shafiei-Bafti et al. 2023. In Qatar fide Wikipedia. For a recent map see Carranza et al. 2025: 293 (Fig. 1).

Etymology: W. morgani was named after the collector of type specimens, “M. Morgan”. 
EtymologyNamed after its distribution in Egypt.

The genus name, Walterinnesia, honors Walter Francis Innes Bey (1858–1937), who was a physician and zoologist in Egypt. 
References
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