292 REPTILES OF THE WORLD 



Preeminent in interest among the Elapince are the 

 Cobras, Naja, ten in number and widely distributed as 

 will be seen by the following list : — 



Egyptian Cobra; Asp; Naja haje. Africa. 



Yellow Cobra; Naja flava. Africa. 



Black-Lipped Cobra; Naja melanoleuca. Africa. 



Black-Necked Cobra; Naja nigricollis. Africa. 



Yellow-Headed Cobra; Naja anchietce. Africa. 



Gold's Cobra; Naja goldii. Africa. 



Guenther's Cobra; Naja guentheri. Africa. 



King Cobra; Hamadryas; Naja bungarus. India; Southern China and 

 the Malay Archipelago. 



Spectacled Cobra; Naja tripudians. India; Southern China and the Ma- 

 lay Archipelago. 



Philippine Cobra; Naja samarensis. Philippine Islands. 



It is not alone from their deadliness and almost hys- 

 terical disposition that the present reptiles have acquired 

 notoriety. The habit of many of them of spreading the 

 neck into a "hood" when angered, is, to say the least, 

 spectacular. It should be realized, though, that not all 

 the species of Naja spread the neck so widely as does the 

 Indian N. tripudians. With some, the characteristic is 

 but slightly developed. Members of several allied 

 genera show a like habit, particularly Sepedon, the single 

 species of which — the Ringhals — is as much a hooded 

 snake as Naja tripudians. 



The Spectacled Cobra or Cobra-de-Capello, Naja 

 tripudians, might well be termed the most sensational of 

 poisonous snakes. The species swarms over India and 

 the larger islands of the Malay Archipelago, caus- 

 ing a fearful loss of human life. When annoyed it 

 rears the anterior portion of its body, usually a third the 

 length, from the ground, spreads the "hood" and dis- 

 closes a weird marking on the distended skin which 

 might be likened to a pair of huge, glaring eyes con- 

 nected by a figure similar to a pair of spectacles ; on the 



