Description ⁶

These snakes reach a maximum size of about 2 m, the average size is between 1 to 1.5 m. The dorsal pattern is highly variable in this species. Several distinct color morphs exist, including black, red-black, red-brown, brown, olive and copper. The head is usually black. Most individuals have at least one black and one red bar across the throat, though there are few individuals with no bars. The ventral scales are dirty yellow or pale brown, speckled with darker brown or black. (Spawls et al., 2002).

There are 17 to 25 scale rows at midbody, 156 to 219 ventral scales, and 51 to 69 subcaudal scales (Spawls et al., 2002).

Sources and Credits

1. (c) James Steamer, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by James Steamer
2. (c) Joachim Louis, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by Joachim Louis
3. (c) Luca Boldrini, some rights reserved (CC BY), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/N.nigricollis.jpg
4. (c) Herpimage, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Naja_nigricollis_081212_01.jpg
5. (c) Yathin S Krishnappa, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/Naja_nigricincta_nigricincta.jpg
6. (c) Mohammadi, Shabnam, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/18130455

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• HerpMapper
• Snake Database
• The Reptile Database
• VertNet

Range Map

(c) Discover Life and original sources, some rights reserved (CC-BY-NC-SA)

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