Naja atra, Cantor, 1842

Tsai, Tein-Shun & Mao, Jean-Jay, 2017, Zavreliella undetermined, Zoological Studies 56 (38), pp. 1-23 : 9

Naja atra

Upper body without markings ( Fig. 4J ) or with irregular or scattered crosslines of light color; nape may have a spectacle-like mark ( Figs. 5A, B ); upper body of 15% of neonates/juveniles and 96% of adults darkened; ventrals without dark color in neonates/juveniles ( Fig. 4J and Fig. 5A ; type I), but generally darkened and mottled with white in adults ( Fig. 5B ; type II); body scales smooth and dorsolateral scales strongly oblique; vertebral scales much smaller than lateral scales; loreals absent and temporals larger than nuchal scales; anal scale generally entire.

Figures

Fig. 4. Representative images of the dorsal head, anterior body, middle body, and posterior body of potential types of shed skins for the snake species: (A) Lycodon rufozonatus rufozonatus (patterned; neonate); (B) L. r. rufozonatus (not patterned; adult); (C) L. ruhstrati ruhstrati (patterned; adult); (D) L. r. ruhstrati (not patterned; adult); (E) Macropisthodon rudis rudis (patterned; juvenile); (F) M. r. rudis (not patterned; adult); (G) Myrrophis chinensis (type I; juvenile); (H) M. chinensis (type II; adult); (I) M. chinensis (type II; adult); (J) Naja atra (type I; juvenile). Scale bar = 0.5 cm.

Fig. 5. Representative images of the dorsal head, anterior body, middle body, and posterior body of potential types of shed skins for the snake species: (A) Naja atra (type I; juvenile); (B) N. atra (type II; juvenile); (C) Oligodon chinensis (patterned-type I; juvenile; note that the leftmost panel [as patterned-type II] was from the posterior body region of an adult); (D) O. formosanus (patterned-type I; neonate); (E) O. formosanus (patterned-type II; adult); (F) O. formosanus (patterned-type II; adult; Orchid Is.); (G) O. ornatus (patterned; adult); (H) Oreocryptophis porphyraceus kawakamii (patterned-type I; juvenile); (I) O. p. kawakamii (patterned-type II; adult); (J) Ovophis makazayazaya (patterned; adult). Scale bar = 0.5 cm.