Aspidelaps
Genus of snakes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aspidelaps is a genus of venomous elapid snakes endemic to Africa. Species in the genus Aspidelaps are commonly called shield-nosed cobras, African coral snakes or coral cobras after their cobra hoods and enlarged rostral (nose) scales. However, the hood is not nearly as well developed in Aspidelaps as it is in the true cobras of the genus Naja.
| Aspidelaps | |
|---|---|
| |
| A. scutatus, the shield-nosed cobra | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae |
| Genus: | Aspidelaps Fitzinger, 1843 |
 | |
Species
| Image | Species | Subsp.* | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
A. lubricus
(Laurenti, 1768) |
2 | Cape coral snake | South Africa (Cape Province), southern Angola, Namibia |
 |
A. scutatus
(A. Smith, 1849) |
3 | shield-nosed cobra | Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, north-east South Africa, Mozambique |
Venom
Aspidelaps venom is neurotoxic, and Aspidelaps bites have caused human deaths in a few cases.[1]
