CreatureData

African cobra

Naja pallida Boulenger, 1896

Status not recordedsnakes

The African cobra (Naja pallida) is a species in the family Elapidae, order Squamata. Recorded adults weigh about 8.79 kg and live up to 20.2 years.

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Quick facts about the African cobra

Weight
8.79 kg
Length
up to 1.5 m
Lifespan
20.2 years
Diet
Carnivore
Longest recorded lifespan
30 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grassland, shrubland
Egg incubation
80.5 days
Young per litter or clutch
10.5 – 14.5
Reproduction
Eggs
Active
Day and night (cathemeral)
Lifestyle
Terrestrial
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the African cobra live?

Not recorded

Is the African cobra endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the African cobra classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classReptilia
  4. orderSquamata
  5. familyElapidae
  6. genusNaja
  7. SpeciesNaja pallida Boulenger, 1896

Synonyms Naja nigricollis pallida

Other names and names in other languages (14)
  • Red spitting cobraEnglish
  • الناشر الأحمر البصَّاقArabic
  • kobra červenáCzech
  • ngulukuTaita
  • Rote SpeikobraGerman
  • Cobra escupidora rojaSpanish
  • SylkeväpunakobraFinnish
  • Cobra cracheur rougeFrench
  • vörös köpködőkobraHungarian
  • Cobra sputatore rossoItalian
  • czerwona kobra plującaPolish
  • Красная плюющаяся кобраRussian
  • Кобра червона плюючаUkrainian
  • 紅射毒眼鏡蛇Chinese

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the African cobra

Other species in the same genus Naja.

CompareAfrican cobra vs Indian cobraAfrican cobra vs Egyptian cobraAfrican cobra vs Forest cobraAfrican cobra vs Black-necked spitting cobra

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the African cobra?

An adult African cobra weighs 8.79 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

How long does the African cobra live?

The African cobra has a recorded lifespan of 20.2 years.

What kind of animal is the African cobra?

The African cobra (Naja pallida) belongs to the family Elapidae in the order Squamata.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). African cobra (Naja pallida). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-cobra

MLA

“African cobra (Naja pallida).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-cobra.

BibTeX
@misc{african_cobra_2026,
  title = {African cobra (Naja pallida)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-cobra},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}