Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi .. were in the field again in Somalia / Ethiopia.

We found following cobras and I would be happy to share ideas on them. They are blood red in sunlight and shiny black in the dark. They are over 7 foot long and are NOT SPITTERS. THEY NEVER SPIT. THe only non spitters in the closer area are Naje melanoleuca and Naja haje. It is certainly not melanoleuca and I am wondering if it may be a colour variation of Naja haje.. but I actually doubt that. Anyone have any Ideas ?
IT IS NOT A PALLIDA CAUSE IT IS NOT A SPITTER.

Price Reptiles International

The melanistic subspecies of N. haje, N. h. legionis (excuse me if I mispelled that)? The pictures I've seen of this species, including the one at the top of this forum, are solid black. The being blood red in sunshine though makes me wonder. At over 7' it's almost certainly not a color variant of pallida, and as you say it doesn't spit. N. haje can certainly reach those lengths and then some, so maybe you just found a pocket of oddly colored N. h. legionis. I'd do some scale counts and comparisons just to be sure. Who knows, you may have found your own species or at least possibly subspecies.

possibly an integrade?

What about the newly described Naja nubiae? It should be closely related to melanoleuca and pallida, but don't know if its a spitter (Wolfgang Wüster should know that)
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Regards

Jan Grathwohl

>>What about the newly described Naja nubiae? It should be closely related to melanoleuca and pallida, but don't know if its a spitter (Wolfgang Wüster should know that)
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Naja nubiae is a spitter, and it doesn't look anything like the specimen in the photo. There is a photo at the link below. Looking at the photo and description of the critter from Somalia, the nearest that springs to mind would be a melanistic N. melanoleuca, but without a better look at the head scales, it is impossible to tell.

Cheers,

Wolfgang
Naja nubiae

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WW

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Here is a close up of the head.. i will try to take a few more better pictures.. I still doubt that they are melanistic as all the animals in the area are the same colour which is red-black depending on the angle the light hits them.

They certainly are very interesting.

I will bring a few to the Show in Daytona in August.

Price Reptiles International

>>Here is a close up of the head.. i will try to take a few more better pictures.. I still doubt that they are melanistic as all the animals in the area are the same colour which is red-black depending on the angle the light hits them.
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Definitely not one of the spitters, as it has a very large 6th suprlabial and a single anterior temporal.

Do you have a side view of the head? On the photo you have shown, it looks like the snake has a small scale under the eye, between the eye and the supralabials - this would suggest Naja haje or relative. - but it is hard to make it out clearly.

Many thanks,

Wolfgang Wuster

PS: Did you get my e-mail?
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WW

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Hello Thomas.
It can´t be N.h. legionis,because this spec. only occurs in a small area in north Africa.
But I read that they found in East Africa reddish / brown Egyptian Cobras, Naja h. haje.
So proably they are a Naja h. haje coloure morph.
Regards Hans