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Indian Spectacled Cobra (Naja naja)

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The 'Big Four’ Snakes of India

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Abstract

The Indian cobra (Naja naja), which is popularly known as the Asian cobra, is also called the spectacled cobra because of its hood mark. It inhabits the Indian subcontinent but is also found in the northeastern parts of the country. The Indian cobra has received much respect and attention in Indian mythology. The bite of this species of snake requires immediate medical attention. Another species of Indian cobra (known as the Indian monocled cobra or N. kaouthia), found in eastern and northeastern parts of the country, is also a deadly venomous snake, though antivenom against this species is not produced commercially. Indian cobras can grow 1–1.5 m in length and show great variation in color. The Indian cobra has proteroglyph dentition: the two hollow, short front fangs are fixed to the top jaw at the front of the mouth. The Indian cobra is oviparous, laying between 10 and 40 eggs. The biochemical analysis of the composition of Indian cobra venom shows that it is mainly comprised of nonenzymatic toxins, especially three-finger toxins, and it also contains enzymatic toxins of variable composition depending on the zoogeographic origin of the cobras. Recently, the relative proportion of different toxins in Indian cobra venom from different regions of the country has been deciphered by proteomic analysis and the variation in clinical manifestation post-cobra bite has also been demonstrated. The species-specific differences in venom composition between N. naja and N. kaouthia, based on biochemical and proteomic analyses, are also described in detail in this chapter. Because of the variations in venom composition, venom samples from these two closely related Indian cobra species also have different pharmacological properties and toxicities.

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    Ashis K. Mukherjee

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Mukherjee, A.K. (2021). Indian Spectacled Cobra (Naja naja). In: The 'Big Four’ Snakes of India. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2896-2_4

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