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Naja kaouthia LESSON, 1831

IUCN Red List - Naja kaouthia - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaElapidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Monocled Cobra, Monocellate Cibra
G: Monokelkobra
Chinese: 孟加拉眼镜蛇 
SynonymNaja kaouthia LESSON 1831: 22
Naja tripudians var. fasciata GRAY 1830
Naia tripudians var. fasciata — HARDWICKE & GRAY 1835
Naja larvata CANTOR 1839
Naga tripudians monocellata NICHOLSON 1874
Naia tripudians var. fasciata — BOULENGER 1896
Naja tripudians viridis WALL 1913
Naja kaothia – WALL 1913 (nomen incorrectum)
Naja naja sputatrix BOURRET 1937
Naja naja kaouthia — SMITH 1940
Naja kaouthia kaouthia — DERANIYAGALA 1960
Naja naja kauothia – KABARA & FISCHER 1972 (nomen incorrectum)
Naja naja kaouthia — HARDING & WELCH 1980
Naja naja kaouthia — GOLAY 1985: 45
Naja kaouthia suphanensis NUTAPHAND 1986
Naja kauthia – KHOLE 1991 (nomen incorrectum)
Naja naja combodia KHOLE 1991 (lapsus calami)
Naja kaouthia — MANTHEY & GROSSMANN 1997: 423
Naja kaouthia — COX et al. 1998: 26
Naja naja kaouthia — SHARMA 2004
Naja (Naja) kaouthia — WALLACH et al. 2009
Naja kaouthia — WALLACH et al. 2014: 460
Naja kauthia — PRADHAN et al. 2014 (in error) 
DistributionBangladesh, Myanmar (= Burma), Cambodia, NE India (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Assam, West Bengal, Orissa = Odisha, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland), Bhutan, Laos, N Malaysia,
S China (Yunnan), Thailand, Vietnam (Quang Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Dak Lak, Lam Dong, Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City and Kien Giang, Son La)

Type locality: Bengal [India]  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: unknown (fide LEVITON et al. 2003) 
DiagnosisDIAGNOSIS (DIAGNOSTIC CHARACTERS).— Body scales smooth, arranged in 19–21 (usually 21) longitudinal rows at mid-body; throat pale, scarcely any dark mottling, often followed by a single dark band, ventrolateral throat spots distinct; remainder of venter either pale or increasingly cloudy with darker pigmentation towards the rear; in adults, hood markings usually distinct, usually a pale, oval or circular marking, with a dark center and occasionally a narrow dark outer border; occasionally 1 or 2 dark spots are present in the pale oval; fangs not modified for spitting, venom discharge orifice large; ventrals 164–196; subcaudals 43–58. Total length 1500 mm; tail length 230 mm (according to Smith [1943:429] larger specimens have been recorded, but they are rare). [after LEVITON 2003] 
CommentVenomous!

Synonymy: partly after Shi et al. 2022.

The label "Naja naja siamensis" has been used in the toxinological literature for this species, not the real Naja siamensis.

Distribution: The northeastern population is genetically distinct and thus makes N. kaouthia paraphyletic with respect to N. atra and N. naja. Although it likely represents a separate species Ratnarathorn et al. 2019 did not name it or diagnose it. The latest IUCN assessment (Stuart & Wogan 2012) limits the species to east of Nepal, so that it does not appear in Nepal or west of Bangladesh. For a map see Shi et al. 2022: 3 (Fig. 1). 
References
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