spitting cobra

Any of various cobras of the genus Naja that can spit venom.


cobra

Borrowed from Portuguese cobra, from Latin colubra (“female snake”).

In the pools, too, was a species of small alligator or enormous iguana, I do not know which, that fed, Billali told me, upon the waterfowl, also large quantities of a hideous black water-snake, of which the bite is very dangerous, though not, I gathered, so deadly as a cobra's or a puff adder's.

1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:

Any of various venomous snakes of the family Elapidae.


mamba

Any of various venomous snakes of the genus Dendroaspis, native to Africa, that live in trees.


asp

From Middle English aspe, from Old French aspe, from Latin aspis, aspidis (“asp, viper”), from Ancient Greek ἀσπίς (aspís, “shield; Egyptian cobra Naja haje”); compare Middle English aspide.


coral snake

Any of various venomous snakes of six genera in family Elapidae, many displaying distinctive color bands.

Over 65 recognized species of New World coral snakes in three genera (Leptomicrurus, Micruroides, Micrurus), native to tropical South America and Southern USA, having bright bands of red, yellow and black.

About 16 species of Old World coral snakes in three genera (Calliophis, Hemibungarus, Sinomicrurus), some banded.


hamadryad

en-noun

hamadryad (plural hamadryads or hamadryades)

hamadryads (plural)
hamadryades (plural)

From Latin Hamadryas, from Ancient Greek Ἁμαδρυάς (Hamadruás), from ἅμα (háma, “together”) + δρῦς (drûs, “tree”).

af

The hamadryades have gone, like the golden fancies of which they were engendered—morning dreams of a young world scarce awake, but full of freshness and beauty. Yet often will the thought, or rather the fancy, come across me, that this wailing but most musical noise—heard in the dim evening, when every tree has a separate sound like a separate instrument, and every leaf a differing tone like the differing notes—is the piteous lament of some nymph pent within the gray and mossy trunk whence she may never more emerge in visible loveliness.

1831, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter XVIII, in Romance and Reality. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, page 301:

The various supports, rafters, braces and plates are of pandanus logs of a rich oily brown, and make one think of a sylvan cathedral where hamadryads might very well dance, where Syrinx might be chased by Pan, Daphne by Apollo, and various other heathen rites take place in the dark hours before the dawn.

1929, Robert Dean Frisbee, The Book of Puka-Puka, Eland, published 2019, page 106:

(Greek mythology) A wood-nymph who was physically a part of her tree; she would die if her tree were felled.

Papio hamadryas
Papio hamadryas#Translingual

A baboon of species Papio hamadryas, venerated by the ancient Egyptians.

Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genera Hamadryas and Tellervo.


copperhead

Agkistrodon contortrix
Agkistrodon contortrix#Translingual

Any of certain of snakes having a copper-colored head in three families within suborder Serpentes.

A venomous pit viper of species Agkistrodon contortrix, found in parts of North America.


taipan

From the name of the Thaypan tribe of Aboriginal people of central Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia, or from Wik-Mungkan tay-pan (or dhayban).

Any venomous elapid snake of the genus Oxyuranus, found in Australia and New Guinea.


krait

Borrowed from Hindi करैत (karait), possibly from Kurukh.

On visiting the General Hospital, on the morning of the 22nd of August, I was informed that one of the punkah coolies had been bitten about 8.30 p.m., the night before, by a krait, whose venom is virulently poisonous.

1871 December, Dr. J. Ewart, “How the bite of snakes―supposed to be poisonous―may be cured”, in The Australian Medical Gazette:

Now, if you run into one of these kraits, you better NOT run away else you're a goner. It'll catch you for sure and you will die in your tracks.

2007, A. Philip Parham, Feeling Free, page 190:

Very much in my thoughts is Joe Slowinski, a herpetologist killed a few years earlier by a misidentified juvenile krait, a snake so small that he couldn't tell if the fang had punctured the skin.

2009, Kate Jackson, Mean and Lowly Things: Snakes, Science, and Survival in the Congo, page 295:

India has a healthy share of poisonous snakes, including kraits, cobras, and two species of vipers, yet Hindu traditions are overwhelmingly snake-friendly.

2011, Lisa Kemmerer, Animals and World Religions, page 71:

Any of several brightly-coloured, venomous snakes, of the genus Bungarus, of southeast Asia.


elapid

(zoology) Any of many species of snakes of the family Elapidae, including the cobras, mambas, and coral snakes


black mamba

Dendroaspis polylepis
Dendroaspis polylepis#Translingual

A large venomous snake found in Africa, taxonomic name Dendroaspis polylepis. Despite the name, this species of snake is not black; its colour ranges widely from olive-brown, khaki or grey, sometimes to darker hues, especially when old. The inside of the mouth is black, but in spite of a recent urban legend there is no indication that that has anything to do with the name "black mamba", which is a much older usage than any such suggestion.


king cobra

Ophiophagus hannah
Ophiophagus hannah#Translingual

A large venomous snake found in East Asia (Ophiophagus hannah), the longest venomous snake in the world.


naja

From Sanskrit नाग (nāga), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)neg- (“to crawl; a creeping thing”).

der

A member of the Naja genus of venomous snakes; cobras


dugite

A small dugite crawled across the lawn from the golf links.

1983, Robert Drewe, The Bodysurfers, Penguin, published 2009, page 150:

Dugites and bobtails rustled out there, and in the evenings, bronzed by the sun as it dunked into the sea, whole mobs of kangaroos lined the ridge […].

1993, Tim Winton, Land's Edge, Picador, published 2014, page 19:

Pseudonaja affinis, a highly venomous snake of southwest Australia.


death adder

Sometimes suggested to derive from deaf adder, a colonial-era name for the snakes which referenced their tendency to remain in place (to ambush prey) rather than flee upon hearing human activity, but probably a simple reference to their venomousness.

A copperhead, a venomous pit viper species Agkistrodon contortrix, found in North America.


common death adder

en-noun

common death adder (plural common death adders)

A death adder of species Acanthophis antarcticus, of Australia, known for its venomousness and speed.


gwarda

At the time he was recovering from another snake bite, a gwarder, and not himself.

1983, Robert Drewe, The Bodysurfers, Penguin, published 2009, page 152:

A very venomous Australian snake, Pseudonaja nuchalis.


tiger snake

Wikispecies tiger snake (canonical)
tiger snakes (plural)

We found boa constrictors or pythons, whip snakes, the handsome but deadly tiger snake, so called from the peculiar marks on its skin[.]

1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 94:

Any of several large venomous Australian snakes of the genus Notechis.


beadsnake

A small poisonous snake of North America, banded with yellow, red, and black: the eastern coral snake, Micrurus fulvius.


bungarum

(dated) A krait (venomous snake of the genus Bungarus)


hydrophid

From hydro- + Ancient Greek ὄφις (óphis, “a small serpent”).

der

(zoology) Any sea snake of the subfamily Hydrophiinae, venomous, preying on fishes, with a flattened tail for swimming.


hydrophiid

(zoology) Any sea snake in the family Hydrophiidae.


cobra de capello

en-noun

cobra de capello (plural cobras de capello)

From Portuguese cobra-de-capelo (“cobra”, literally “hooded snake”).

bor

An Indian cobra (Naja naja), a highly venomous Indian snake.


mulga snake

A member of the black snake family found in Australia, Pseudechis australis


rinkhals

From Afrikaans rinkhals (“ring throat”).

A venomous elapid, Hemachatus haemachatus, found in parts of southern Africa.


Egyptian cobra

A species of cobra found in Africa and the Arabian Peninsula (Naja haje) often referred to as an asp.


king brown

He was a long king brown, sliding through the grass as silky as 50 SAE motor oil as it pours from the can.

1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber, published 2003, page 17:

A large venomous snake native to Australia (Pseudechis australis).


black snake

Any of certain snakes that are black in colour:

Coluber constrictor, a non-venomous North and Central American species of snake.

Coluber constrictor
Coluber constrictor#Translingual


inland taipan

(zoology) Oxyuranus microlepidotus, a highly venomous snake endemic to semiarid regions of central east Australia.


Indian cobra

A cobra of the species Naja naja, having on its hood two circular ocelli patterns connected by a curved line.


brown snake

Any of certain snakes that are brown in color of species:

Pseudonaja spp., Australian brown snakes

Storeria spp., North American brown snakes

Elapognathus minor, Australian short-nosed snake or little brown snake

Pseudechis australis, Australian mulga or king brown snake


Kimberley death adder

en-noun

Kimberley death adder (plural Kimberley death adders)

It looks like a pile of leaves, but the Kimberley death adder can deliver a bite which could result in paralysis and death.

2015 September 16, Kirstie McCrum, “New deadly snake species discovered is 'in the world's venomous top 10'”, in The Mirror:

Australia is famous for its enormous variety of toxic or venomous creatures, and now scientists have added a new snake to its roster: Acanthophis cryptamydros, or the Kimberley death adder (named after the region of Australia it comes from).

2015 October 1, Danny Lewis, “Yet Another Highly-Venomous Snake Discovered in Australia”, in Smithsonian:

The Kimberley death adder is roughly 24 inches (60 cm) long and has a diamond-shaped head.

2016 January 28, Sergio Prostak, “Top 20 New Species Discovered in 2015”, in Science News:

Fig. 5.11. Range of the Kimberley death adder, Acanthophis cryptamydros

2017, Peter Mirtschin, Arne Rasmussen, Scott Weinstein, Australia's Dangerous Snakes: Identification, Biology and Envenoming, →ISBN, page 76:

Any of species Acanthophis cryptamydros of Australian snake.


whip snake

Any of the slender snakes of diverse genera and species:

species Suta dwyeri, found in Australia from New South Wales to South Queensland


hydrophiine

(zoology) Any sea snake of the subfamily Hydrophiinae


fierce snake

A highly venomous snake, Oxyuranus microlepidotus.


monocled cobra

Naja kaouthia, a cobra of south and south-east Asia.


many-banded krait

many-banded krait (plural many-banded kraits)

Bungarus multicinctus
Bungarus multicinctus#Translingual

Bungarus multicinctus, a highly venomous striped elapid snake found in central and southern China and Southeast Asia.


sea krait

A venomous semi-aquatic elapid snake of the genus Laticauda.


Cape cobra

Naja nivea, a moderate-sized, highly venomous cobra inhabiting a wide variety of biomes across southern Africa.


olive sea snake

olive sea snake (plural olive sea snakes)

Slithering amongst the luxuriant growth were olive sea snakes.

1991, Martha Holmes, Sea Trek, BBC Books, page 114:

A venomous species of sea snake, Aipysurus laevis.


green mamba

Compound of green + mamba, from Zulu imamba.

Dendroaspis angusticeps, a venomous snake native to Africa, the common mamba, eastern green mamba.

Dendroaspis viridis, a venomous snake native to western Africa; the western green mamba.


red-bellied black snake

red-bellied black snake (plural red-bellied black snakes)

A red-bellied black snake moves through her mind, sliding through the grass.

2015, Charlotte Wood, The Natural Way of Things, Allen & Unwin, published 2018, page 99:

A snake, Pseudechis porphyriacus, of eastern Australia.


blue-bellied black snake

blue-bellied black snake (plural blue-bellied black snakes)

A snake of species Pseudechis guttatus, of eastern Australia.


small-scaled snake

small-scaled snake (plural small-scaled snakes)


reticulated whipsnake

reticulated whipsnake (plural reticulated whipsnakes)

A venomous snake of species Demansia reticulata.


Equatorial spitting cobra

Equatorial spitting cobra (plural Equatorial spitting cobras)

Naja sumatrana, a species of spitting cobra.


snake-eating cobra

snake-eating cobra (plural snake-eating cobras)

[O]ur worst foe of this kind was a large light brown snake, which I think from subsequent experience must have been the reptile known as the Ophiophagus elaps, or snake-eating cobra.

(archaic) A king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah).


deaf adder

Our deaf adder resembles, in its short, puffy, repulsive appearance, the blow-adder of America.

1828, Peter Miller Cunningham, Two Years in New South Wales, third edition, volume 1, London: Henry Colburn, page 319:

The death, or deaf adder, is an ugly creature, and is considered highly dangerous.

1833, William Henry Breton, Excursions in New South Wales, Western Australia, and Van Dieman's Land, During the Years 1830, 1831, 1832 and 1833, London: Richard Bentley, page 264:

The Death Adder is extremely sluggish in its habits, and rarely moves out of the way of persons approaching it; I am therefore inclined to think, that the original popular name assigned to this reptile, must have been Deaf Adder, instead of the Death Adder.

1845, Clement Hodgkinson, Australia, from Port Macquarie to Moreton Bay, London: T. and W. Boone, page 212:

Another friend on a cruise, put his saddle down for a pillow at night as usual, and on lifting up the saddle-flaps the next morning, he observed a beastly deaf adder lying flat down.

1846, Christopher Pemberton Hodgson, Reminiscences of Australia, with Hints on the Squatter's Life, London: W. N. Wright; Simpkin and Marshall, page 169:

Snakes of various sizes, from two to ten feet in length, including, perhaps, the venomous deaf adder

1852, R. G. Jameson, Australia and Her Gold Regions, New York: Cornish, Lamport & Co., page 45:

The deaf adder is the most formidable “varmint” in Australia. There are two varieties; it is generally about two feet long. The bite is fatal. The deaf adder never moves unless it is touched, hence its name.

1853, Ellen Clacy, A Lady’s Visit to the Gold Diggings of Australia, in 1852–53, London: Hurst and Blackett, page 250:

One day at Charlotte Waters, during my second visit, they brought in a specimen of what was evidently either the “deaf-adder” (Acanthophis antarctica) or another species of the same genus.

1896, Baldwin Spencer, “Through Larapinta Land: A Narrative of the Horn Expeditoin to Central Australia”, in Report on the Work of the Horn Scientific Expedition to Central Australia, London, Melbourne: Dulau and Co.; Melville, Mullen and Slade, page 42:


yellow-bellied sea snake

yellow-bellied sea snake (plural yellow-bellied sea snakes)

A venomous species of sea snake found in the tropical oceanic waters around the world except for the Atlantic Ocean.


snouted cobra

Naja annulifera, a highly venomous species of cobra found in Africa.