The black mamba Dendroaspis polylepis is a species of highly venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. It is native to parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Specimens of 4.
It varies in colour from grey to dark brown. Juvenile black mambas tend to be paler than adults and darken with age. Despite the common name, the black mamba is not black; the colour name describes rather the inside of its mouth, which it displays when feeling threatened. The species is both terrestrial ground-living and arboreal tree-living ; it inhabits savannah , woodland , rocky slopes and in some regions, dense forest.
It is diurnal and is known to prey on birds and small mammals. Adult black mambas have few natural predators. In a threat display , the black mamba usually opens its inky-black mouth, spreads its narrow neck-flap and sometimes hisses.
It is capable of striking at considerable range and may deliver a series of bites in rapid succession. Its venom is primarily composed of neurotoxins that often induce symptoms within ten minutes, and is frequently fatal unless antivenom is administered.
Despite its reputation as a formidable and highly aggressive species, the black mamba attacks humans only if it is threatened or cornered. In , German naturalist Wilhelm Peters described Dendraspis Antinorii from a specimen in the museum of Genoa that had been collected by Italian explorer Orazio Antinori in what is now northern Eritrea. Ophiophagus hannah. Dendroaspis viridis. Dendroaspis angusticeps. The black mamba is a long, slender, cylindrical snake. It has a coffin-shaped head with a somewhat pronounced brow ridge and a medium-sized eyes.
