CreatureData

Eastern green mamba

Dendroaspis angusticeps (Smith, 1849)

LCLeast Concernsnakes

The eastern green mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps) is a snake in the family Elapidae, within the order Squamata and class Reptilia. Its habitat is forest, and it is also called the Green mamba or East African green mamba.

Eastern green mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps)
Photo: Danleo~commonswiki · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the eastern green mamba

Its eggs have an incubation period of 86.5 days, with 11 per clutch. Its lifespan is given as 16.55 years, with values up to 18.8 years, and the IUCN lists it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.

Weight
1.34 kgsrc for Weight
Lifespan
16.6 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
20 years
Main food
vertebratessrc for Main food
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
86.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
11 – 11.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Reproduction
Eggssrc for Reproduction
Active
By day (diurnal)src for Active
Lifestyle
Arborealsrc for Lifestyle
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the eastern green mamba?

EASTERN GREEN MAMBA · LENGTH 2 MADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 2 m, the recorded maximum length of the eastern green mamba is about 1.2 times the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Photos of the eastern green mamba

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Eastern green mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps)
Holger Krisp · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Eastern green mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps)
hape662 · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Eastern green mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps)
Ntuibuatho · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the eastern green mamba live?

Not recorded

What is the eastern green mamba?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The eastern green mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps) is a highly venomous snake species of the mamba genus Dendroaspis native to the coastal regions of southern East Africa. Described by Scottish surgeon and zoologist Andrew Smith in 1849, it has a slender build with a bright green back and green-yellow ventral scales. Adult females average around 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) in length, and males are slightly smaller.

In spite of common urban legends and misconceptions labeling the eastern green mamba an aggressive, fast-moving "people-chaser", it is in fact a shy and elusive species that remains hidden in the trees, and is rarely seen. This seclusion is usually attributed to its arboreal habitat and green colouration, which acts as effective camouflage in its natural environment. Even with its deadly venom, the green mamba has to protect itself from predators, including birds of prey and other snakes, such as cobras. It has been observed engaging in ambush predation, a trait seen among many Viperidae species, contrary to the active hunting style typical of other Elapidae snakes. It preys on arboreal and winged animals, such as birds and their chicks and eggs, bats, and arboreal rodents such as mice, rats, and gerbils.

Eastern green mamba venom consists of both neurotoxins and cardiotoxins. Symptoms of envenomation include swelling of the immediate bite-wound area, dizziness, vertigo and nausea, accompanied by dehydration, labored breathing and difficult swallowing. This eventually will develop into arrhythmia and convulsions—all progressing to respiratory paralysis, which results in a fatal lack of oxygen to the brain. Bites that are severe if not immediately treated on-site can quickly prove deadly.

From the Wikipedia article “Eastern green mamba” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eastern_green_mamba&oldid=1359111987), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the eastern green mamba endangered?

The eastern green mamba is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the eastern green mamba classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classReptilia
  4. orderSquamata
  5. familyElapidae
  6. genusDendroaspis
  7. SpeciesDendroaspis angusticeps (Smith, 1849)

Synonyms Dendraphis angusticeps, Dendroaspis intermedius, Dendroaspis sjoestedti, Naja angusticeps

Other names and names in other languages (21)
  • East African green mambaEnglish
  • Green mambaEnglish
  • Green mambaEnglish
  • GroenmambaAfrikaans
  • Sydlig Grøn MambaDanish
  • Blattgrüne MambaGerman
  • Gewöhnliche MambaGerman
  • Schmalkopf-MambaGerman
  • Mamba vert de l'EstFrench
  • keleti zöld mambaHungarian
  • Mamba verde orientaleItalian
  • ヒガシグリーンマンバJapanese
  • Østlig Grønn MambaNorwegian Bokmål
  • SmalkopmambaDutch
  • Mamba-verde-orientalPortuguese
  • Узкоголовая мамбаRussian
  • งูแมมบาเขียวThai
  • งูกรีนแมมบ้าตะวันออกThai
  • Mokwepa o motalaTswana
  • 東部綠曼巴蛇Chinese
  • iMamba eluhlazaZulu

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the eastern green mamba

Other species in the same genus Dendroaspis.

LC, Least Concern
Black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis)

Black mamba

Dendroaspis polylepis

Elapidae

CompareEastern green mamba vs Black mambaEastern green mamba vs Western green mambaEastern green mamba vs Jameson's mamba

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

What kind of animal is the eastern green mamba?

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

What is the scientific name of the eastern green mamba?

Its scientific name is Dendroaspis angusticeps, in the genus Dendroaspis.

Who named the eastern green mamba and when?

The species authority is written as (Smith, 1849).

Is the eastern green mamba endangered?

No. It is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

How long does the eastern green mamba live?

Its lifespan is given as 16.55 years, with values up to 18.8 years reported by sources.

What habitat does the eastern green mamba live in?

Its habitat is forest.

How long is the eastern green mamba's egg incubation period?

Its eggs have an incubation period of 86.5 days, and clutch size is given as 11.

What other names does the eastern green mamba have?

It is also called the Green mamba and the East African green mamba.

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). Eastern green mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-green-mamba

MLA

“Eastern green mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-green-mamba.

BibTeX
@misc{eastern_green_mamba_2026,
  title = {Eastern green mamba (Dendroaspis angusticeps)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-green-mamba},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}