Cobra is the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

of various snakes, most of which belong to the genus '' Naja''.

Biology

All of the known cobras are venomous and many are capable of rearing upwards and producing a hood when threatened.Two kinds of non-venomous snake, the

hognose snake Hognose snake is a common name for several unrelated species of snake with upturned snouts, classified in 2 colubrid snake genera and 1 pseudoxyrhophiid snake genus. They include the following genera: *''Heterodon'', which occur mainly in ...

s and the striped keelback, also rear upwards and produce hoods but are not considered "cobras"; likewise, some venomous elapid snakes, such as the

black mamba The black mamba (''Dendroaspis polylepis'') is a species of highly venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. It is native to parts of sub-Saharan Africa. First formally described by Albert Günther in 1864, it is the second-longest ...

, are also capable of producing hoods but are not called "cobras".

Other snakes known as "cobras"

While the members of the genus ''Naja'' constitute the true cobras, the name ''cobra'' is also applied to these other genera and species: * The rinkhals, ringhals or ring-necked spitting cobra (''Hemachatus haemachatus'') so-called for its neck band as well as its habit of rearing upwards and producing a hood when threatened * The king cobra or hamadryad (''Ophiophagus hannah'') * The two species of tree cobras, Goldie's tree cobra ('' Pseudohaje goldii'') and the black tree cobra ('' Pseudohaje nigra'') * The two species of shield-nosed cobras, the Cape coral snake ('' Aspidelaps lubricus'') and the shield-nosed cobra (''Aspidelaps scutatus'') * The two species of black desert cobras or desert black snakes, '' Walterinnesia aegyptia'' and ''Walterinnesia morgani'', neither of which rears upwards and produces a hood when threatened * The eastern coral snake or American cobra ('' Micrurus fulvius''), which also does not rear upwards and produce a hood when threatened The false water cobra ('' Hydrodynastes gigas'') is the only "cobra" species that is not a member of the Elapidae. It does not rear upwards, produces only a slight flattening of the neck when threatened, and is only mildly venomous.

References

{{Animal common name, snakes Broad-concept articles Snakes Predators