496 
THE CORAL TRIANGLE: HEARST BIODIVERSITY EXPEDITION 
Size.— Total length 293 mm. (one cJ); tail length 23 mm. 
Distribution. — Endemie to Philippines (Luzon [Prov.: Aurora]; Polillo). 
Genus Naja 
Cobras 
Naja Laurenti, 1768:90 (Type species: Naja lutescens Laurenti, 1768 = Coluber naja Linnaeus, 1758 [see 
Williams and Wallach 1989:97; also David and Ineich 1999:156]). 
Diagnosis. — Maxillary bone extends forward beyond palatine; venom fangs moderately 
short, followed by from 0 to 2 small teeth; eye moderate, pupil round; nostril large, between two 
nasal seales; loreal scale absent; body scales smooth, in 19-25 longitudinal rows at midbody (for 
Southeast Asian species only); hemipenes relatively short, forked for less than half their length, 
variously spinose throughout. 
Naja philippinensis Taylor, 1922 
Philippine Cobra; Northern Philippine Cobra 
Figures 4, 34, 35A-B 
Naja naja philippinensis Taylor, 1922a:265 (Type locality: Manila, Luzon Island).— Leviton, 1964:539. 
Naja philippinensis, Wiister and Thorpe, 1990:336-341.— Toriba, 1993:191.— David and Ineich, 1999:166. 
Description. — Color above light brown to olive brown, below lighter cream to yellowish 
brown, without any distinctive dark bands or other markings anteriorly; scales in 23-25 longitudi¬ 
nal rows around neck, 21 longitudinal rows at midbody, and 15 just before the vent (scale row 
reduction: 23[25]-21-15); ventrals 181-191; subcaudals 38^7; precloacal scale single. 
Size.— Snout-vent length (cJ) 1223 mm, ($) 960 mm; tail length (3) 189 mm, ($) 195 mm. 
Distribution. — Endemic to Philippines (Luzon [Prov.: Aurora, Batangas, Bulacan, Cavite, 
Laguna, Pampanga, Pangasinan, Quezon, Rizal]; Marinduque; Mindoro). 
Figure 34. Naja philippinensis Taylor, 1922. Illustrations by Emily M. Eng. 
Naja samarensis Peters, 1861 
Central Philippine Cobra 
Figure 35C 
Naja tripudians samarensis Peters, 1861:690 (Type locality: Samar Island). 
Naja samarensis,Bou\Qn%Qv, 1896:385.— Taylor, 1922a:259.— Wiister and Thorpe, 1990:336-341. 
Naja naja samarensis, Leviton, 1964:542. 
Description. — Color above dark brown to black, usually with a trace of a light lateral line, 
at least anteriorly, on outer two scale rows; below, throat and first few ventrals yellowish followed 
by a distinct broad black band, which gradually fades to light gray; scales in 21-23 longitudinal 
rows around the neck, 19 longitudinal rows at midbody, and 13 longitudinal rows just before the 
