Arabian cobra

The Arabian cobra (Naja arabica) is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to the Arabian Peninsula. The cobra within the peninsula is a concern, with having a major cause of mortality rate in the region.

Arabian cobra
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Elapidae
Genus:	Naja
Species:	N. arabica
Binomial name
Naja arabica (Scortecci, 1932)
Range of Arabian cobra
Synonyms[2]
Naja haje arabica Scortecci, 1932 Naja (Uraeus) arabica — Wallach et al., 2009 Naja arabica — Trape et al., 2009 Uraeus arabica — Wallach et al., 2014

Geographic range

The Arabian cobra is found in Oman, southern and western Saudi Arabia, and Yemen.[1]

Etymology

The specific name, arabica is Latin for Arabian.

Taxonomy

This species, Naja arabica, had long been considered a subspecies of the Egyptian cobra (Naja haje), but morphological and genetic differences have led to its recognition as a separate species.[3] N. arabica is an elusive species and rarely seen in the wild.

References

1. Els, J. & Al Johany, A.M.H. (2012). Naja arabica. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T199850A2613995.en
2. Species Naja arabica at The Reptile Database . www.reptile-database.org.
3. Trape, Jean-François; Chirio, Laurent; Broadley, Donald G.; Wüster, Wolfgang (2009). "Phylogeography and systematic revision of the Egyptian cobra (Serpentes: Elapidae: Naja haje) species complex, with the description of a new species from West Africa" (PDF). Zootaxa. 2236: 1–25. Retrieved 9 February 2012.

Further reading

• Scortecci G (1932). "Rettili dello Yemen ". Atti della Società Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale in Milano 71: 39–49. (Naja haje arabica, new subspecies, pp. 47–49). (in Italian).