Naja

Lore & Background

The origin of the generic name, Naja, is from the Sanskrit nāga (with a hard "g") meaning "snake". Some hold that the Sanskrit word is cognate with English "snake", Germanic: snēk-a-, Proto-IE: *(s)nēg-o-, but Manfred Mayrhofer calls this etymology "not credible", and suggests a more plausible etymology connecting it with Sanskrit nagna, "hairless" or "naked".

Reader's Guide

Naja species vary in length, and most are relatively slender-bodied snakes. Most species are capable of attaining a total length (tail included) of 1.84 m. Maximum lengths for some of the larger species of cobras are around 3.1 m, with the forest cobra (Naja melanoleuca) arguably being the longest species. All have a characteristic ability to raise the front quarter of the body off the ground and flatten the neck to appear larger to a potential predator.

Fang structure is variable. All species except the Indian cobra (Naja naja), Egyptian cobra (Naja haje) and Caspian cobra (Naja oxiana) have some degree of adaptation to spitting. All species in the genus Naja are capable of delivering a fatal bite to a human. Most species have strongly neurotoxic venom, which attacks the nervous system, causing paralysis, but many also have cytotoxic features that cause swelling and necrosis, and have a significant anticoagulant effect.

Some also have cardiotoxic components to their venom. Several Naja species, referred to as spitting cobras, have a specialized venom delivery mechanism. The Caspian cobra (N. oxiana) of Central Asia is the most venomous Naja species. The untreated mortality rate among those envenomed by N. oxiana approaches 80%, the highest among all species within the genus Naja.