Mozambique spitting cobra
The Mozambique spitting cobra is a highly venomous species of spitting cobra in the family Elapidae. The species is native to Africa, and it is found in Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Taxonomy
German naturalist Wilhelm Peters described Naja mossambica as a species new to science in 1854.Description
In colour, Naja mossambica is slate to blue, olive or tawny black above, with some or all scales having black edging. Below, it is salmon pink to purple yellowish, with black bars across the neck and ventrals speckled or edged with brown or black; young specimens sometimes have pink or yellow bars on the throat.The average length of adults is between 90 cm and 105 cm, but the largest specimen measured was a male 154 cm long in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Distribution
Naja mossambica is the most common cobra of the savanna regions of tropical and subtropical Africa. The distribution includes all of Mozambique; KwaZulu-Natal, as far south as Durban; Mpumalanga's lowveld region; southeastern Tanzania and Pemba Island; and west to far southeastern Angola and northeastern Namibia. Younger specimens are much more frequently encountered in the open at daytime. Unlike the Egyptian Cobra, this species prefers localities near water, to which it will readily take when disturbed.Venom
Naja mossambica is considered one of the most dangerous snakes in Africa. Its venom is about as toxic as the American Mojave rattlesnake, considered the world's most venomous rattlesnake. Like the rinkhals, it can spit its venom. Its bite causes severe local tissue destruction. Venom to the eyes can also cause impaired vision or blindness.The venom of this species contains postsynaptic neurotoxin and cytotoxin. There have been only a few fatalities resulting from bites of this species, and survivors are mostly disfigured.
A polyvalent antivenom is currently being developed by the Universidad de Costa Rica's Instituto Clodomiro Picado.