Naja kaouthia
is a highly venomous snake species
& commonly known as monocellate cobra or monocled cobra, native to South
Asia and Southeast Asia. It is found in China, Vietnam, India, Nepal,
Bangladesh, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Bhutan, Thailand, and Myanmar. They are called Monocled cobras on
account its “O” shaped hood pattern, which is also denoted as the monocellate
hood pattern.
It is a medium-sized and
heavy-bodied snake having elongated cervical ribs that expand to form the hood
when they are alarmed.
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| Naja kaouthia (Image source: reptilesmagazine.com) |
The
coloration of dorsal surface in this species may vary from yellow to brown,
gray or blackish, with or without frayed or may have clear distinct cross
bands. Some snake individuals may be olivaceous to brownish or black over with
or without a yellow or orange colored, “O” shaped mark on their hood. On the
lower side of hood these snakes have black spot on either side, with one or two
black cross-bars on the ventral surface behind it while, rest of the belly is of
the same color as the dorsal body but a little faint. As age advances, the
snake becomes paler, wherein the adult is brownish or olivaceous.
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Scientific
classification
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Kingdom:
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Animalia
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Phylum:
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Chordata
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Class:
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Reptilia
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Order:
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Squamata
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Suborder:
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Serpentes
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Family:
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Elapidae
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Genus:
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Naja
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Species:
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kaouthia
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Binomial name
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Naja kaouthia Lesson, 1831
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Conservation status
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Least Concern
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Scalation
in these cobras has 25-31/ 19-21/ 17-15 scales dorsally while on the ventral
side they have 164-197 ventral scales and 43-61 subcaudal
scales. They also have more than one cuneate scale on either side. The frontal
scale is short and quadrangle.
It
is an oviparous species of snake where females lay clutch of 16-33 eggs.
Incubation periods in this species take about 55-73 days & egg were laid mostly
from January-March.
This species has been categorized
as Least Concern by IUCN on account of its large
distribution, tolerance, and its reported abundance. There are no major threats
have been reported about the species so far. It is also listed on CITES
Appendix II.
This cobra species is highly
adaptable snake species which has adapt to a wide range of habitats, from
natural to human-modified environments, at elevations of about 1000 m.asl.
These snakes prefer to live places having water resources such as agriculture
fields, mangroves, and swamps, but can also be sighted in grasslands,
scrublands, and forests.\
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| Naja kaouthia (Image source: reptile-database.reptarium.cz/) |
Naja
kaouthia was formerly considered as a subspecies of the Naja
naja (Spectacled Cobra). It is mainly a crepuscular or nocturnal
terrestrial species of snake, but it shows some arboreal ability if
needed. Generally prefer to hide in rodent holes, caves, mounds, piles,
cracks, agriculture fields and under fallen wooden logs. They can also be
found in scrublands,
grasslands, and forests as well as around human settlements. They feed on rodents,
small mammals, fish and occasionally other
snakes whereas; juveniles take amphibians mostly.
When encountered these snakes prefer to flee at
first but if cornered they lift their anterior portions of their
bodies, spread their hood, produce hiss sound loudly and try to bite in
aggression for defending themselves. It has been recorded recently that some individuals
of the monocled cobra have the potential of spitting venom. It contains the neurotoxins in its venom which leads
to symptoms such as localized swelling at the bite side, drowsiness, neurological problems (progressive
paralysis of the nervous system, respiratory paralysis and death due to
asphyxia) and
muscle issues (tissue necrosis) in victims after being bitten.
Literature Cited:
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monocled_cobra
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