Black-necked cobra
The black-necked cobra (Naja nigricollis) is widely known for its insidious ability to “shoot” poison into the eyes of the enemy. It lives in the savannas of Africa south of 25 ° N. sh., from Mauritania to Sudan and from Somalia to the Transvaal. The color of her body is from light brown to dark brown, sometimes with obscure transverse stripes. The throat and neck are black below, sometimes with a white transverse stripe. The length of the snake reaches 2 m. When attacked, this cobra always reflects it with an accurate and lightning-fast “shot” of poison in the eyes. Locals and travelers are often the victims of such “shots”. As a target, the snake chooses the shiny eyes of the victim. True, sometimes she makes a mistake, hitting a metal buckle, button or watch bracelet with a stream of poison when a sunbeam sparkles on them. Apparently, the cobra takes them for additional eyes of the enemy.
Classification
Kingdom: Animalia (animals)
Type: Chordata
Class: Reptilia (reptiles)
Order: Squamata (scaly)
Suborder: Serpentes (snakes)
Family: Elipidae (aspididae)
Genus: Naja (real cobras)
Species: Naja nigricollis (black-necked cobra)
Inhabitation
This cobra is distributed in the territories of the African savannas south of 25 ° N. sh., from the Sudan to Mauritania and from the Transvaal to Somalia. During the daytime, the black-necked cobra prefers to wait out in shelters, using bushes or rock crevices for this. They can also penetrate abandoned termite mounds. They become active after dark when they go out in search of food.
Description
The body color of the black-necked cobra varies from light brown to dark brown. Sometimes (in the southern subspecies) obscure transverse stripes protrude on the body. The throat and neck are black below, sometimes there is a white transverse stripe.
This type of cobra is also called spitting. She rarely bites a person, if this happens, then mostly at night. An abundance of rodents, which she uses for food, can attract her to a person’s dwelling. The need for bites in her generally occurs rarely. It will be enough for her, having risen, to inject the poison. This snake is an excellent shooter. It hits the target from a distance of up to two meters. When she is attacked, she repels them with a lightning-fast and accurate “shot” in the eyes with her venom. Often the victims of such “shots” are travelers and local residents. It is the eyes that this cobra chooses for its target, however, mistakes also occur when it takes a button or a metal buckle for them when the sun’s rays fall on them. At the moment when the snake shoots poison, the trachea closes tightly so that the thinnest streams of poison do not break the movement of air. With each such “shot”, about 3 mg of poison is sprayed. Moreover, in a state of extreme irritation, the black-necked cobra can shoot poisons up to 7 times in a row. Thus, she can deal with several opponents at the same time. With each shot, she releases two thin jets of pressurized poison. During such a series of shots, the snake uses up to 28 mg of venom – this is almost its full supply in the venom glands. If it gets into the eyes, the poison causes sharp pain, then clouding of the cornea. The victim becomes completely helpless, as he instantly goes blind. If you do not rinse your eyes immediately, then vision can be lost forever.
Additionally
It has been measured that when the black-necked cobra shoots venom, the muscles that squeeze the venom out of the glands create a pressure of up to 1 kg/cm5.
Sources of
http://ours-nature.ru
http://www.floranimal.ru
http://www.infozoo.ru
http://dic.academic.ru
