Poisonous Snados of iho Worlct 



orly, ft'wer (l.'l 17( posicrlnrly. Ni-nlriils I'.lL' 'J'JT ; iiiiul 

 plutK finlro; siilii'iiiuliils imlrcil, d" Mi. 



Miixlllnry tt-fth: Two liirKc tuliulitr fiiiiKs wllli ex 

 tiMiml uroDVfS fiilluwi'il. iiflrr an liitcrsimcc. hy I! t siiuiU 

 li'i'ili. 



Banded Water Cobra, ISoulcngeriiui iiitiiii/d/n 

 I liii.liliol/ ami IVtiT.s), 



lilrntificutiiiii: This is ii l!ir;;c llstic.iliii;,' cnlini lliiil 

 is always found iti or near wnlcr. It is fspfcinlly (■(■rn- 

 mon aloiiK some of llu' sliori's of I.alvi' TanKanyiliii. Tlii' 

 wt'stern rai'i' ( /<. «. uhiihIiiIii \ lias a scries of "Jl l-'l 

 narrow lilai'k crossluuuls on a brown or tan tiailinround : 

 ttio eastern subsin-cies ill. nnniilala Htorniiii Dollo) has 

 only 3-r> such bunds on the neck ; the remainder of the 



FuauK .V>. — Banded Water ('obra. Jioitloii/erinu an- 

 iiulata. This subsijeties, /{. u. stormsi. has only a 

 few black bands on the neck; the western form. Ii. u. 

 annnlata. has bands throughout the body. Photo by 

 Zoological Society of San Diego. (See also plate \'II. 

 figure 9. ) 



body is unicolor brown. The nonvenomous watersiiake 

 Graijia, which has the same range, looks much like the 

 western form of the water cobra but may be distin- 

 guished by the presence of a loreal scale. Although it 

 may spread the body, Grayia does not have a hood. 

 Water cobras raise the anterior part of the body and 

 spread a narrow hood as a threat, in typical cobra 

 fashion. Adults average ."> to 7 feet in length ; record 

 length is about 9 feet. 



Dorsal .scales 21-23 at midbody, more (23-2.")) on the 

 neck, fewer (l.j-lTl iiosteriorly. Ventrals 192-227: sub- 

 caudal.s G7-S0. 



DixtrihiitUin: Xyasaland and Lake Tanganyika west- 

 ward through the rain forest regions to the western 

 Congo and Cameroon. 



Remarks: These large water cobras are not aggres- 

 sive and appear to offer little danger to persons that 

 leave them alone. Little is known of the effect of their 

 bite and no antivenin is produced for the snakes of 

 this genus. 



ELAPIDAE; Genus Dendroospis Schlegel, 1848. 

 .Manillas. 



I'liiir species arc currently recogni/.cd 'I'licy iiinge 

 ipMM' iiio>t of iciilial and soullierii .\frlia. I>iie In their 

 si/.e, speed, and highly loxic! venoiri. Iliey are lonsidered 

 among the most dangerrius of all siuikes. The fact that 

 all arc greenish when young has confused (lie iilcniity 

 of lliese snakes for many years. One species, I). j>(>l]i- 

 hpis. attains a length of 11 feel. 



/)(/htilii>ii: llc.iil n.in-iiw and elongate, slightly dis- 

 tinct from neck; u distinct canthus, Hody slender and 

 tapering, slightly compressed; neck may be flattened 

 when snake is aroused, but there is no real hood; tail 

 long and taiiering. 



Kyes moderate in si/,e; pupils iciuiid. 



Head scales: The usual !) on llic ciciwn ; frontal 

 broad anteriorly, narrow posteriorly. Laterall.v. nasal 

 widely separated from preoculars by prefrontal. 



I5ody scales; Dorsals smooth and narrow, in l.'{-2."> 

 distinctly oblique rows at midb(jdy. the same or more 

 rows anteriorly, fewer iiosteriorly. N'entrals 201-282; 

 anal jilate divided; subcaudals |iaired. 99-131. 



Maxillary teeth: Two large tubular fangs without 

 external grooves; no other teeth on bone. 



Eastern Green Mamba, Deiul roax])}x (ingiint'iceps 



(Sniith). 



Identification: This is a long and very slender bright 

 green tree snake that is often confused with the rear- 

 fanged boomslang, I)iKi>ht>li<1ux. and the harmless green 

 hush-snakes, Philothuiiiniin. It can be distinguished from 

 both by the smaller eyes and by the absence of the 

 loreal scale, and from the bush-snakes by the absence 

 of keels and notches on the ventral plate.s. It differs 

 from the black mamba (I), ixjliilriiin) . the only other 

 mamba in its range, by its bright green color, the 

 light color I white to bluish white) of the inside of its 



FiouKE .")(). — Eastern Green Mamba. Dcndrddxijis uru/iiKti- 

 rrps. The bright green color and the long head dis- 

 tinguish this species. Photo by New York Zoological 

 Society. 



mouth, and the fewer dorsals and ventrals. Adults 

 average C-S feet in length : record lengtli is about 9 feet. 



Dorsals in 17-19 rows at midbody; ventrals 201-232; 

 subcaudals 99-12G. 



Distrihiitioii: A narrow range in the forests and 

 brushy country of east Africji from Kenya southward to 



92 



