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Cobra

life science Maturity 7-9 Next article →

Many different snakes use the name cobra. Most of these snakes belong to a group called Naja. These are the true cobras. Cobras are venomous animals. This means they have venom. They are very interesting to study.

Some cobras have a special way of acting. They can rear upwards when they feel threatened. They also produce a hood. This hood is made by spreading their neck. This helps them look bigger. The rinkhals also does this. It has a band around its neck.

Not all snakes called cobras act the same. The king cobra is also called a hamadryad. There are two types of tree cobras. These are Goldie's tree cobra and the black tree cobra. Some snakes are called shield-nosed cobras. These include the Cape coral snake and the shield-nosed cobra.

Some cobras do not make a hood at all. The black desert cobras do not rear up. These include Walterinnesia aegyptia and Walterinnesia morgani. The eastern coral snake is another one. It is also called the American cobra. These snakes stay low.

One snake is very different from the rest. It is called the false water cobra. It is not part of the Elapidae family. It does not rear upwards like others. It only flattens its neck a little bit. This snake is only mildly venomous. This means its venom is not very strong.

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