Caspian cobra
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| Central Asian Cobra | |
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| Species: | N. oxiana
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| Binomial name | |
| Naja oxiana (Eichwald, 1831)
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Naja oxiana or the Central Asian Cobra is a species of venomous snake found in Central Asia.
Distribution
It is found in Afghanistan, NE Iran, North-western India, Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, SW Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The type locality is Transcaspia.
Behavior
It is mainly terrestrial and diurnal. It feeds on small mammals, amphibians and birds during the evening and early morning.
Habitat
It can be found in rocky, stony foothills up to and sometimes above 3,000 metres (10,000 ft) elevation. This is also the westernmost species of Asian cobra.
Venom
The venom is mainly neurotoxic. The bite of this species may cause severe pain and swelling. Weakness, drowsiness and paralysis of throat may appear in less than 1 hour after the bite. Death can result due to respiratory failure.
References
- Wüster, Wolfgang (1993) A century of confusion: Asiatic cobras revisited. Vivarium, 4(4):14-18
- Eichwald, E (1831) Zoologia specialis, quam expositis animalibus tum vivis, tum fossilibus potissimuni rossiae in universum, et poloniae in specie, in usum lectionum publicarum in Universitate Caesarea Vilnensi. Zawadski, Vilnae.
- Wüster, W and Thorpe, RS (1991) Asiatic cobras: Systematics and snakebite. Experientia, 47:205-209.
- Wüster, W and Thorpe, RS (1992) Asiatic cobras: population systematics of the Naja naja species complex (Serpentes: Elapidae) in India and Central Asia. Herpetologica, 48:69-85.
- Wüster, Wolfgang (1998) The cobras of the genus Naja in India. Hamadryad, 23(1):15-32.
External links
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