The many-banded snake (''Naja multifasciata''), also known commonly as the burrowing cobra, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

venomous snake ''Venomous snakes'' are species of the suborder Serpentes that are capable of producing venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The venom is typically delivered by injection using hollow ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Elapidae Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids , from , variant of "sea-fish") is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus '' Emydocephalus ...

. The species is native to

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

. There are three recognized

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

Geographic range

''N. multifasciata'' is found in

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, the

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

, the

Republic of Congo The Republic of the Congo, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, the Congo Republic or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo), is a country located on the western coast of Central ...

, and the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

Habitat

The preferred natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

of ''N. multifasciata'' is marshy areas of

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

, at elevations up to .

Description

''N. multifasciata'' is a small snake with an adult size of and maximum size of about . The body is moderately slender with a short tail ending in a blunt spike. The head is short, flattened, and slightly distinct from neck; the neck region is not capable of expansion into a hood. The eyes are medium to moderately large. The pupils are round. The

dorsal scale In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...

s are smooth and glossy.

Venom

''N. multifasciata'' is

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a sti ...

ous. Its

is similar to classical cobra venoms and appears to contain both

neurotoxin Neurotoxins are toxins that are destructive to nervous tissue, nerve tissue (causing neurotoxicity). Neurotoxins are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insult (medical), insultsSpencer 2000 that can adversely affect function ...

s and

cardiotoxin Cardiotoxicity is the occurrence of heart dysfunction as electric or muscle damage, resulting in heart toxicity. This can cause heart failure, arrhythmia, myocarditis, and cardiomyopathy in patients. Some effects are reversible, while in others, p ...

Reproduction

''N. multifasciata'' is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

Taxonomy

The

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Paranaja'' was synonymised with ''

Naja ''Naja'' is a genus of venomous elapid snakes commonly known as cobras (or "true cobras"). Various species occur throughout Africa, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Several other elapid species are often called "cobras", such a ...

'' in a recent molecular phylogenetic study, as this species is closely related to the forest cobra (''

Naja melanoleuca The forest cobra (''Naja melanoleuca''), also commonly called the black cobra and the black and white-lipped cobra, is a species of highly venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to Africa, mostly the central and western p ...

'')

Subspecies

Three subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the

nominotypical subspecies In biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. ...

. *''Naja multifasciata anomala'' Sternfeld, 1917 – Cameroon *''Naja multifasciata duttoni'' (

Boulenger Boulenger is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Benjamin Boulenger (born 1990), French footballer * Edward George Boulenger (1888–1946), British zoologist, director of aquarium at London Zoo * George Albert Boulenger (1858– ...

, 1904) *''Naja multifasciata multifasciata'' (

F. Werner Franz Josef Maria Werner (15 August 1867 in Vienna – 28 February 1939 in Vienna) was an Austrians, Austrian zoology, zoologist and exploration, explorer. Specializing as a herpetology, herpetologist and entomology, entomologist, Werner describ ...

, 1902) ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a

other than ''

''.

Etymology

The

subspecific name In biology, trinomial nomenclature is the system of names for taxa below the rank of species. These names have three parts. The usage is different in zoology and botany. In zoology In zoological nomenclature, a trinomen (), trinominal name, or ...

, ''duttoni'', is in honor of British parasitologist

Joseph Everett Dutton Joseph Everett Dutton (9 September 1874 – 27 February 1905) was a British parasitologist who discovered one of the Trypanosoma brucei, trypanosomes that cause African trypanosomiasis, sleeping sickness. He died in the Congo Free State at the ag ...

. Boulenger GA (1904).