The Caspian cobra (''Naja oxiana''), also called the persian cobra or Russian 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), ...

of highly

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

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. First described by

Karl Eichwald Karl Eduard von Eichwald known as Karl Eichwald (, ''Eduard Ivanovich Eykhvald''; 4 July 1795, in Mitau, Courland Governorate – 10 November 1876, in Saint Petersburg) was a Baltic German geologist, physician, and naturalist, who lived his whole ...

, a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

physician, in 1831, it was for many years considered to be a subspecies of the

Naja naja The Indian cobra (''Naja naja /na''dʒa nadʒa/), also known commonly as the spectacled cobra, Asian cobra, or binocellate cobra, is a species of cobra, a venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to the Indian subcontinent, ...

until genetic analysis revealed it to be a distinct species.

Taxonomy

Karl Eichwald, a Baltic German, having been born modern day

Saint Petersburg, Russia Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, who was a physician and naturalist first described the Caspian cobra originally as ''Tomyris oxiana'' in 1831. Russian naturalist

Alexander Strauch Alexander Strauch (1 March 1832, in Saint Petersburg – 14 August 1893, in Wiesbaden, Germany) was a Russian naturalist, most notably a herpetologist. In 1861 he started working as a curator of the zoological museum at the Imperial Academy of S ...

placed it in the genus ''Naja'' in 1868. The

generic Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...

name ''naja'' is a Latinisation of the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

word () meaning "cobra". The

specific Specific may refer to: * Specificity (disambiguation) * Specific, a cure or therapy for a specific illness Law * Specific deterrence, focussed on an individual * Specific finding, intermediate verdict used by a jury in determining the final ...

epithet ''oxiana'' is derived from the word in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

or () in

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, and refers to the ancient name of the river

Amu Darya The Amu Darya ( ),() also shortened to Amu and historically known as the Oxus ( ), is a major river in Central Asia, which flows through Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Rising in the Pamir Mountains, north of the Hindu Ku ...

which flows along

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

`s northern border separating it from

Tajikistan Tajikistan, officially the Republic of Tajikistan, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Dushanbe is the capital city, capital and most populous city. Tajikistan borders Afghanistan to the Afghanistan–Tajikistan border, south, Uzbekistan to ...

and

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

before turning northwest into

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

and flows from there into the southern remnants of the

Aral Sea The Aral Sea () was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan to its north and Uzbekistan to its south, which began shrinking in the 1960s and had largely dried up into desert by the 2010s. It was in the Aktobe and Kyzylorda regions of Kazakhst ...

(''

Transoxiana Transoxiana or Transoxania (, now called the Amu Darya) is the Latin name for the region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...

''), where this species occurs. For most of the twentieth century, all Asiatic cobras were considered to be subspecies of the

Indian cobra The Indian cobra (''Naja naja /na''dʒa nadʒa/), also known Common name, commonly as the spectacled cobra, Asian cobra, or binocellate cobra, is a species of Naja, cobra, a venomous snake in the Family (biology), family Elapidae. The species is ...

(''Naja naja''); during this period, the subspecific names ''N. naja oxiana'' and ''N. naja caeca'' were applied to plain-scaled populations of ''N. naja'' from the north of India as well as populations corresponding to the Caspian cobra. Highly variable coloration and size within individual species made classification difficult until the advent of genetic analysis. A

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondrion, mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the D ...

study of Asiatic cobras in the subgenus ''Naja'' showed the Caspian cobra diverged from a lineage that gave rise to the

monocled cobra The monocled cobra (''Naja kaouthia''), also called monocellate cobra and Indian spitting cobra, is a venomous cobra species widespread across South and Southeast Asia. It is characterized by a distinctive circular or "monocle"-shaped marking on ...

(''Naja kaouthia'') and the

Andaman cobra The Andaman cobra or Andaman spitting cobra (''Naja sagittifera'') is a species of cobra endemic to the Andaman Islands of India. The name of this cobra comes from the Islands itself. The species has a very potent venom, and is capable of “spit ...

(''Naja sagittifera'') around 3.21 million years ago. The species itself appears to be genetically homogeneous despite population separation caused by the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...

mountains; this suggests a recent rapid range expansion.

Description

''Naja oxiana'' is medium in length, a heavy-bodied snake with long cervical ribs capable of expansion to form a hood. Anteriorly, the body is depressed dorsoventrally, and posteriorly it is

subcylindrical {{Short pages monitor