Scientific name
Naja kaouthia Lesson, 1831
Alternate names
New Guinea bockadam, South Asian bockadam, Bockadam snake
Order
Squamata
Family
Elapidae
IUCN Read List Category
Least Concern
Distinguishing Morphological Features
The monocled cobra has an O-shaped, or monocellate hood pattern on the
rear of its hood. Coloration in the young is more constant. The dorsal surface
may be yellow, brown, gray, or blackish, with or without ragged or clearly
defined cross bands. It can be olivaceous or brownish to black above with or
without a yellow or orange-colored, O-shaped mark on the hood. It has a
black spot on the lower surface of the hood on either side, and one or two
black cross-bars on the belly behind it.
Biology
Oviparous. The elongated nuchal ribs enable a cobra to expand the anterior
of the neck into a hood. Monocled cobras are terrestrial and most active at
dusk. In rice-growing areas, they hide in rodent burrows in the dykes
between fields and have become semi-aquatic in this type of habitat.
Locality
Not available
Distribution
Bangladesh, Myanmar (= Burma), Cambodia, NE India (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Sikkim, Assam, West Bengal, Orissa, Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland), Bhutan,
Laos, N Malaysia, S China (Yunnan), Thailand, S Vietnam
