A large, broad-hooded African elapid steeped in ancient Egyptian symbolism and reputed to be the snake of Cleopatra's death.
Description
The Egyptian cobra is a heavy-bodied elapid usually 1.5 to 2 m long with a uniformly brown or olive body. The hood is broader and more rounded than that of an Indian cobra, and the head bears a teardrop marking under the eye. The throat may show dark crossbars.
Behavior
A diurnal hunter active in cool morning and late afternoon hours, this cobra is fond of toads, lizards, birds, and small mammals. When threatened it raises the forebody and spreads a broad hood; its potent neurotoxic and cytotoxic venom acts quickly on neurotransmission and tissue.
Range
Distributed widely across North and East Africa, parts of the Sahel, and the Arabian Peninsula. The species is the model for the rearing uraeus emblem worn on the crowns of pharaohs and probably the asp that killed Cleopatra.
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