Equatorial spitting cobra
Sumatran Cobra (Naja sumatrana )
The Sumatran Cobra (Naja sumatrana ), also known as Equatorial spitting cobra is a venomous snake of the genus Real cobras (Naja ).
Features
The Sumatran Cobra reaches a maximum length of 150 cm, but are generally copies of 100 to 120 cm known. Behind the parietal be no large shields. There is a Voraugenschild, three rear eye shields, eight lower lip shields and seven upper lip shields. Which contact the third and fourth eyes. In the middle of the body are 15-25 rows of dorsal shield. The dorsal scales are smooth. The number of ventral scales is 162 to 206 The anal shield is complete. There are 40 to 55 Subcaudalschuppen, of which the front and rear completely divided. The basic color is yellow to yellowish green. On Borneo and black specimens are found. The top of the head is brownish yellow or olive. The lips and the neck are yellowish. The hood is not patterned. The eyes are dark and the pink tongue. The belly is usually bright yellow, pale yellow, or black. Occasionally you will find copies with irregularly shaped brown spots on the underside of the hood. Juvenile snakes sometimes have light transverse lines. The nest of this type may consist of up to 23 eggs.
Distribution area
The distribution area of Sumatra Cobra extends from the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra and surrounding islands to Palawan and the Philippines.
Habitat
The Sumatran Cobra is found from the lowlands and hilly regions at altitudes of at least 1,500 m. It inhabits the edges of the tropical wet and dry forests, particularly along clearings as well as tropical and subtropical mountain forests, swamps and marshes, plantations, agricultural used areas, rice terraces, gardens and urban areas. They often linger at damp places with dense vegetation around water bodies.
Way of life
The Sumatran Cobra is a bottom dweller, but is also found in the aquatic environment. It is mainly nocturnal. During the day she uses burrows in an appropriate size as a resting place and go after dark to hunt for mammals, especially rats, amphibians, lizards, birds and other snakes. This species is not aggressive. Because the snakes are but common in human dwellings, it always comes back to bite deadly. If the Sumatran Cobra is threatened, she directed her hood up and spits her very strong poison very accurate in the eyes of the attacker.