Peter Betts wrote:
Is Pilane for real or just a joker.... I have seen plenty Eygptian Cobras over the last 50 years in the lowveld (Sabi Sands and Kruger) and they have always been relatively shy and all have looked and pushed off and only seldom have they stood their ground and flared their hoods. I have never heard of a snouted cobra??? so I have just been down to my neighbours and borrowed their Bill Branch's "Snakes of Southern Africa" and I Quote ... Mocambique Spitting Cobra..."IT SPREADS ITS BROAD HOOD AND SPITS READILY" "It Rarely Tames" " BITES ARE FREQUENT IN ZULULAND AND THE TRANSVAAL LOWVELD" All this suggests that this is a mean blighter who doesn't retreat from anything readily and not the shy snake Pilane talks about!!!!
Now to sort out some Eygptian Cobra Myths.
Distribution map = ALL OVER LOWVELD (ENTIRE KRUGER + Swaziland) and is found exactly where the Moz Cobra is found. 2 sub species in Southern Africa... The one found in the whole of the Old Transvaal (Includes Kruger) name is Naja Haje Annulifera which is an Egyptian Cobra and NOT a Snouted Cobra or whatever!!... The Eastern Race (The one found in Kruger) "IS LESS AGRESSIVE" I rest my case and suggest Pilane get himself/herself a proper reference book as the one he/she has now reminds me of Grimms Fairy Tales. The snake in the Picture on the thread is a docile Cobra N.h. Annulifera commonly known as the Egyptian Cobra..now I must return this book
Your friends book's Date of publishing? Still the Transvaal?
The Snouted cobra was previously known as the Egyptian cobra but DNA studies proved that the (Gypo) as we as herptologists calls them is indeed a seperate species and thefore the name change to Snouted Cobra (
Naja annulifera) The Egyptian Cobra (
Naja h. heja) can only be found in north Africa.
In the past we recognized 5 subspecies of the Egyptian cobra, two of those subspecies are now divided and placed as a new species with one subspecies. The subspecies of the Egyptian cobra were named as
Naja haje annulifera and
Naja haje anchietae in the new taxonomic way are they renamed to
Naja annulifera (Snouted cobra) and
Naja anchietae. (Anchieta's Cobra) .Both found in Southern Africa..
The tree other subspecies are still recognized as subspecies of the Egyptian cobra, they are:
Naja haje haje – South of the Sahara , from Senegal to East and North- east Africa
Naja haje legionis – Morocco
Naja haje arabica – South- west Arabia east wards to South- west Oman
Yes they, (Snouted cobras) are shy and not agrressive.... but they are more 'aggressive' than a Mozzie... Spitting venom
not a form of agrression but a form of defence.
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