Description

Naja Melanoleuca Venom | Forest Cobra Venom:

Naja Melanoleuca Venom | Forest Cobra Venom is extracted from a snake called Naja Melanoleuca.

More details about Naja Melanoleuca Venom | Forest Cobra Venom:

Purity	> 99 %
Form	Lyophilized Powder
Packaging	In vacuum sealed glass vials, in secured parcel.

The venom of this cobra is a postsynaptic neurotoxin and bites result in severe neurotoxicity.

According to Brown and Fry of the Australian Venom and Toxin Database, the murine intraperitoneal LD₅₀ value is 0.324 mg/kg.

The average venom yield per bite is 571 mg and the maximum venom yield is 1102 mg. This snake can be highly dangerous due to the quantity of venom it can inject in a single bite and its aggressive nature when defending.

Death can occur rapidly, within 30 to 120 minutes in severe cases of envenomation.

Signs and symptoms of envenomation include ptosis, drowsiness, limb paralysis, hearing loss, inability to speak, dizziness, ataxia, shock, hypotension, abdominal pain, fever, pallor, and other neurological and respiratory symptoms.

Taxonomic Classification:

Name	Naja Melanoleuca
Common Name(s)	Forest Cobra, black cobra, black and white-lipped cobra
Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Reptilia
Order	Squamata
Suborder	Serpentes
Family	Elapidae
Genus	Naja
Species	N. melanoleuca

About Naja Melanoleuca Snake:

The forest cobra (Naja melanoleuca), also commonly called the black cobra and the black and white-lipped cobra, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae.

The species is native to Africa, mostly the central and western parts of the continent.

It is the largest true cobra species with a record length of 3.2 metres (10 feet).

Taxonomy and evolution:

The forest cobra is classified in the genus Naja of the family Elapidae. Naja melanoleuca was first described by American herpetologist Edward Hallowell in 1857.

The generic name Naja is a Latinisation of the Sanskrit word nāgá (नाग) meaning “cobra”.

The specific epithet melanoleuca is Ancient Greek and means “of black and white”.

The word melano is Greek for “black”, while leuca comes from the Ancient Greek word for “white”.

This species is also known as the black cobra and black and white-lipped cobra.

Description:

The forest cobra is Africa’s largest cobra of the genus Naja and possibly the largest of all the true cobra (Naja) species in the world.

The length of an average adult is 1.4 to 2.2 m (4.6 to 7.2 ft), and they regularly attain lengths of 2.7 m (8.9 ft), and lengths up to 3.2 m (10 ft) have been recorded in the wild.

The mean body mass of the species in one survey, which did not exclude juvenile cobras per se, was reported at a mean of 509.5 g (1.123 lb) while large, mature forest cobras are known to obtain weights of up to 2,000 to 3,600 g (4.4 to 7.9 lb).

Scalation:

Like other snake species, the forest cobra has skin covered in scales. Snakes are entirely covered with scales or scutes of various shapes and sizes, known as snake skin as a whole.

The head, body and tail scalation of the forest cobra:

Dorsal rows at midbody: 19-21
Ventrals: 201-214
Subcaudals: 63-72 (paired)
Anal plate: Single
Upper labials: 7 (8)
Upper labials touching eye: 3 & 4
Preoculars: 1-2
Postoculars: 2-3

Behavior:

The forest cobra is an agile, diurnal species that climbs well and is one of the most aquatic of the true cobras of the genus Naja.

It is terrestrial, but it is a fast, graceful climber, known to ascend trees to a height of 10 m (33 ft) or more. It is quick moving and alert.

It swims well and readily takes to the water; in some areas its main diet is fish and could be regarded as semi-aquatic.

Although it is active mostly during the day (diurnal) in uninhabited areas, it can also be active by night (nocturnal) where it goes into urban areas.

When not active, it takes cover in holes, brush piles, hollow logs, among root clusters or in rock crevices, or in abandoned termite mounds at forest fringe or clearings.