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. researchers recently had tested and made an antivenom to treat the lethal bite that it carries.<Moussa, I., Hessain, A., Al-Arfaj, A. Farouk, K., Selim, S. 2015. immunological Properties of Anti Naja haje arabica (The Arabian Cobra) Snake Venom Antibodies Prepared in Chicken 11: 956–959.>

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

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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 AMH (2012). "Naja arabica ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
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).