There are about 40 kinds of cobras in the whole family, and they are mainly distributed in Asia and the African continent, especially in the Asian continent. On the African continent, there are mainly Egyptian cobras that once took cleopatra's lives, Mozambique venomous cobras, forest cobras, South African cobras, golden cobras and so on. In Asia, there are more species of life, such as: Zhoushan cobra, Philippine cobra, Bengal cobra, Indian cobra, Thai cobra, Sama cobra and so on. The more well-known cobras in China are mainly Zhoushan cobras, Bengal cobras, Thai cobras and Indian cobras, but many people cannot distinguish the differences between these cobras, and the following is an inventory of the differences between several cobras.
Cobras are called cobras because they will have an eye-like pattern on the back after their neck expansion, and many scientists believe that the reason why cobras evolved this pattern is to protect themselves, when the cobra expands its neck, it will block the field of vision of its back, and the pattern of the eyes evolved is to confuse the sneakers behind it. This eye pattern evolved not only for cobras, but also for some butterflies, such as peacock butterflies and beautiful eye butterflies. Humans have also used this method to avoid beasts of prey, and the indigenous people living in the Amazon rainforest like to wear a mask on the back of their heads to deceive jaguars, and jaguars like to sneak up on humans in the back, and wearing this mask can deter them to a certain extent.
Peacock butterfly
Beautiful eye butterfly
Thai Cobra
The Thai cobra is also known as the Siamese cobra or the Indochina Cobra, and it can be known from their name that it is mainly distributed in the Indochina Peninsula and is distributed in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia and so on. The Thai cobra is a venomous cobra that can cause blindness by being sprayed in the eye by their venom. Thai cobras generally have a body length of about 0.9-1.meters, their body color is mainly gray, black and brown, the back eye pattern is very similar to the Bengal cobra, the Thai cobra back pattern is a black spot in the white circle, and the Thai cobra is more toxic than the Zhoushan cobra, Bengal cobra and Indian cobra.
Zhoushan cobra
Zhoushan cobra is mainly distributed in China, Laos and northern Vietnam, mainly distributed in the southern region of China, in China's Fujian, Zhejiang, Taiwan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Guizhou, Hunan, Yunnan, Anhui, Chongqing, Hubei, Jiangxi and other provinces. Like Thai cobras, Zhoushan cobras also spray venom, and being sprayed with their venom can also cause blindness. The body color of Zhoushan cobras is mainly black and brown, and the eye lines on their backs are similar to those of two glasses. This cobra is generally about 1.5 meters to 2 meters long, which is a large species in the cobra family.
Bengal cobra
The Bengal cobra is mainly distributed in the Indian subcontinent and the Indochina Peninsula, and is found in northeastern India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Vietnam and Cambodia. In China, they are mainly distributed in Guangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan Panzhihua and other regions, and they are mainly distributed in the southwest region in China. The Bengal cobra is also a poisonous cobra, which is mainly tan in color and has a body length of about 1.5-2 meters. The bengal back eye lines are a single circle. The Bengal cobra was considered a subspecies of the Indian cobra for many years until 1997, when it was not isolated as a separate species.
Indian Cobra
Indian cobras are mainly found in the South Asian subcontinent, mainly in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal and Bangladesh. The body length of this cobra is about 1.4-1.6 meters, and the longest Indian cobra lives in sri Lanka, with a longest length of about 1.8 meters. The body color of indian cobras is more complex, mainly brown, black, gray, olive green, and some Indian cobras are the characteristics of these colors mixed with each other. The main symbol of the cobra is that the back eye stripe is a smiley face pattern.
The difference between the Zhoushan cobra, the Bengal cobra and the Indian cobra
1. Back pattern
When the Zhoushan cobra is expanded, the back pattern will take on a pattern similar to that of double eye glasses, while the Bengal cobra is a one-eyed pattern, and the Indian cobra pattern is even more eerie, their pattern is particularly like a smiley face.
2. Distribution range
Zhoushan cobras are mainly distributed in the southern region of China, in addition to northern Vietnam and Cambodia also have a small distribution. Indian cobras are mainly distributed in South Asia, mainly in countries such as India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bhutan and Nepal. The Bengal cobra is the most widely distributed cobra, from northeast India to the Indochina Peninsula, and also in the southwest region of China. Mixed cobras often occur in areas where the three cobra species intersect.
3. Body color
Zhoushan cobra is basically black, Bengal cobra is mainly brownish black and tan, Indian cobra color is the most complex, not necessarily based on pure color, but also may be hybridized in various colors.
Although they are all cobras, the venom strength of various cobras varies greatly, and even if they are the same cobra, the distribution range can lead to different venoms. The venom toxicity of the Indian cobra in southern India is clearly different from that of the Indian cobra in northern India, not to mention the Indian cobra living in Sri Lanka. In general, cobras living in food-poor areas are far more venomous than cobras living in areas with abundant food sources.