The following articles deal with snake pictures, so please read them with caution to avoid discomfort
Close-up of the head
The ring-necked cobra, also known as the spit snake, or the ring-necked spray cobra, belongs to the cobra family, like the king cobra, but does not belong to the snake genus cobra, and is a single monofamily species, that is, the spit snake genus. They are closely related to the genus Mamba, and they are not real cobras in the strict sense of the word.
Perhaps for some, it's a snake of the cobra family with a big body and gorgeous lines, giving the initial impression when it opens its hood and spews out venom. The ring-necked cobra is one of the famous venomous cobras on the African continent, although it is not a patent of the cobra family, and some vipers will also have this skill, such as the Mangshan soldering iron snake in China, and there are records under breeding conditions that show that they will spray venom, which may be the only one of the vipers.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="5" > it's not a real cobra</h1>
Why are ring-necked cobras not in the cobra genus? Zoologists classify them as a single species, which naturally has some basis. Its dorsal ridge scales are arranged in a keel-like arrangement with a rugged appearance, while the cobra's scales are smooth, which is one of the important characteristics that distinguish it from the cobra genus snakes. In addition, the snakes of the cobra genus are oviparous, while the spit snake is oviparous, that is, the juvenile snake is already fully formed at birth and has highly venomous fangs.
Spit snakes are medium in size, with adults up to 1.5 meters long, generally more than 1 meter in length. It has a strong body and keel-like scales. The tail is short, and the snout is short and pointed. Their color varies greatly, with different colors in different habitats. In most cases , the back is dark brown or black in color , with pale spots and lateral bands of white spots , yellow or cream , irregular and uneven. Most individuals have one or more pale rings around the neck, which is also the origin of its name - ring-necked cobra.
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Ring-necked cobras are mainly distributed in southern Africa and South Africa, often found in grasslands, savannas, lowland forests and other habitats. It is mainly active at night, and it may often be seen in the sun during the day and is good at climbing trees. Its vision is poor, and it can only distinguish the smell of prey in the air and its specific positioning by means of a forked tongue. They are probably one of the most hardy snakes on the continent, hibernating during the slightly lower temperatures in the southern African winter, while wandering around in search of food.
The ring-necked cobra is not a very aggressive snake, and when it encounters humans, it generally prefers to avoid contact and flee. However, if they can't do that, they may have two strategies to deal with it. The first is to take an aggressive posture, like other cobras, standing its body upright, higher than the cobra's propped up height, while making a hissing sound. Prop up a very high body height, so that they can aim at the enemy's eye part, spray venom, although the venom spray will spread like a fog, unfortunately into the eyes, it will also cause eye damage, if not treated in time, it will cause blindness.
The second strategy is to adopt the skill of pretending to be dead, although this skill can be seen in some other snake families; even cobras have cobras with similar skills, but they are not used very often. When they pretend to be dead, they expose their abdomen and spit their tongues out of their mouths, showing a very painful appearance. If at this point you are blinded by its Oscar-level deception and accidentally touch or grab it, then sorry, it will not hesitate to take advantage of your lack of attention to give you a bite. Although their venom is not the most deadly snake, rotten meat is inevitable if not treated in time.
The snake that is performing
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="31" > special tooth structure</h1>
Their poisonous fangs are anterior groove teeth, which are the structure of the poisonous teeth after a certain modification, which is not the same as the general cobra venomous teeth, the venom outlet hole is located in front, and bends forward and upward like a nozzle, and the degree of modification is more conducive to them spraying the venom farther, up to 2.5 meters. Therefore, even if humans are close to them, they need to maintain a certain safe distance or wear a gas mask. When they want to spray venom at their enemies, they need to lift the front of their body, unlike the Mozambican spraying cobra, which can spray your face without looking up. The amount of venom that can be sprayed at a time is about 80-120 mg, and the lethal dose for humans is 50-60 mg.
The venom of the ring-necked cobra is not the deadliest of the African cobra families, and is much weaker than that of its relative, the genus Mamba. Most cobras are toxic as neurotoxin-based mixed venoms, resulting in acute respiratory paralysis and death; the venom of the ring-necked cobra is mainly blood circulation venom and cytotoxin, containing a new three-fingered toxin that is different from other snakes, and its main clinical manifestations are serious symptoms such as bleeding, thrombosis, tissue necrosis, etc., which is somewhat similar to the rotten meat symptoms caused by pit viper bites in our country. Deaths due to ring-necked cobras are rare on the African continent, and serious injuries can be avoided by receiving timely treatment with antivenom.
Underage individuals
They are oviparous snakes, generally can produce 20 to 30 juvenile snakes at a time, and can produce up to 60 juvenile snakes under feeding conditions, known as one of the giant snakes in the cobra family.