# Black mamba (*Dendroaspis polylepis*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-mamba  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is a snake in the family Elapidae, within the order Squamata and class Reptilia. It falls in the large size class, with a representative adult body mass of 30.76 kg. Its egg incubation period is 72.5 days, and the figure given for young per litter or eggs per clutch is 11.5. Its lifespan is 11 years, with values up to 26.2 years reported, and the IUCN Red List assesses it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 2.3 kg |
| Length | up to 4.25 m |
| Lifespan | 11 years |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 26.2 years |
| Main food | vertebrates |
| Habitat | grassland, shrubland |
| Egg incubation | 72.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 11.5 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Squamata
- family: Elapidae
- genus: Dendroaspis
- species: *Dendroaspis polylepis* Günther, 1864

Synonyms: *Dendraspis angusticeps*, *Dendraspis antinorii*, *Dendraspis mamba*, *Dendroaspis polylepis antinorii*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the black mamba?

The black mamba is a snake, a reptile in the family Elapidae and the suborder Serpentes.

### How heavy is the black mamba?

The representative adult body mass of the black mamba is 30.76 kg, which places it in the large size class.

### Is the black mamba endangered?

No. The black mamba is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does the black mamba live?

The black mamba has a lifespan of 11 years, and values up to 26.2 years have been reported.

### How long is the black mamba's egg incubation period?

The egg incubation period of the black mamba is 72.5 days.

### How many young or eggs does the black mamba have?

The figure for young per litter or eggs per clutch for the black mamba is 11.5.

### Who named the black mamba and when?

The scientific name Dendroaspis polylepis is credited to Günther, 1864.

### What other names does the black mamba have?

Other English names for the black mamba are Black current, Common black mamba and Ethiopian black mamba.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
- [SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b), CC0 1.0, 1.0-dryad-v5. Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-mamba