''Walterinnesia aegyptia'', also known as the desert cobra or desert black snake, is a species of
venomous snakes in the
family Elapidae that is native to the
Middle East. The
specific epithet
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''aegyptia'' (“of Egypt”) refers to part of its geographic range.
Description and behaviour
(See the article on the genus at ''
Walterinnesia'')
Distribution
The range of the species encompasses southern
Israel, north-western
Saudi Arabia, western
Jordan,
Egypt’s
Sinai Peninsula and possibly
Lebanon. The
type locality is
Cairo, where the
type specimen was purchased.
Venom
The desert cobra is highly venomous. The subcutaneous for the venom of ''W. aegyptia'' is 0.4 mg/kg. For comparison, the
Indian cobra
The Indian cobra (''Naja naja''), also known as the spectacled cobra, Asian cobra, or binocellate cobra, is a species of cobra found in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bhutan, and a member of the "big four" species that are ...
's (''Naja naja'') subcutaneous is 0.80 mg/kg, while the
Cape cobra
The Cape cobra (''Naja nivea''), also called the yellow cobra, is a moderate-sized, highly venomous species of cobra inhabiting a wide variety of biomes across southern Africa including arid savanna, fynbos, bushveld, desert and semi-desert reg ...
's (''Naja nivea'') subcutaneous is 0.72 mg/kg. This makes the desert black snake a more venomous snake than both. Venom toxins of the desert cobra are similar to those of the
king cobra (''Ophiophagus hannah''), indicating a close relationship.
Like many elapid snakes, the venom is primarily neurotoxic and the effects of envenenomation are due to systemic circulation of the toxins rather than from local effects on tissue near the site of injection.
[Longo DL, Fauci AS, Kasper DL, Hauser SL, Jameson J, Loscalzo J (editors) (2012). ''Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 18th Edition''. New York: McGraw-Hill. 4,012 pp. .]
References
aegyptia
Reptiles of the Middle East
Taxa named by Fernand Lataste
Reptiles described in 1887
{{Elapidae-stub