BANGOR MAIL (UK) 09 July 03 Cobra was spitting at not having a name (Owen Hughes)
Snake expert Dr Wolfgang Wuster has helped identify a new species of cobra that had been baffling keepers at London Zoo.
Dr Wuster,from Bangor University's school of biological sciences, used DNA testing to confirm the newlynamed Nubian Spitting Cobras were, indeed, a new variety of serpent.
It helped unravel the mystery of its identification at London Zoo which had puzzled keepers since it was delivered there following an illegal pet trade confiscation.
Dr Wuster said: "More work now needs to be done to establish a few facts about this species.
"We have established that they come from densely populated fertile lands in the Nile valley,so for conservation reasons we need to establish how large the population is, over what areas they are scattered, and whether they are endangered."
The newly-christened cobras remain at London Zoo and have now bred there.
Cobra was spitting at not having a name