Wildlife
Cobras, kraits, coral snakes and related species are a family of venomous snakes. It includes such famous members as the coral snake, the inland taipan and the black mamba. The sea snakes also belong to this family.
Scientific name: Elapidae
Rank: Family
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Snake roulette
The harmless king snake mimics the deadly coral snake.
The harmless king snake mimics the deadly coral snake.
The shading illustrates the diversity of this group - the darker the colour the greater the number of species. Data provided by WWF's Wildfinder.
Death adders
Black mamba (species)
Cobras
King cobra (species)
Inland taipan (species)The Elapidae (Greek ἔλλοψ éllops, "sea-fish") are a family of venomous snakes found in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, terrestrially in Asia, Australia, Africa, North America, and South America, and aquatically in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
Elapid snakes exhibit a wide range of sizes, from 18-cm species of Drysdalia to the 5.6-m king cobra. All elapids are characterized by hollow, fixed fangs through which they inject venom. Currently, 325 species in 61 genera are recognized.
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