What specialized structures does a king cobra have?

1. Does the king cobra have any special features?
2. What adaptations do king cobras have?
3. How do king cobras protect themselves?
4. Can a king cobra eat a human?
5. What are the physical characteristics of a king cobra?
6. Do king cobras build nests?
7. What is a behavioral adaptation for snakes?
8. How do king cobras hunt their prey?
9. What do king cobras prey on?
10. What chemical defense does a cobra snake have?
11. What chemical defense does a cobra have?
12. What happens if a snake spits on you?
13. Do king cobras eat their babies?
14. Which snake bite kills fastest?
15. Can a snake bite an elephant?

Does the king cobra have any special features?

The sole member of the genus Ophiophagus, it is distinguishable from other cobras, most noticeably by its size and neck patterns. The king cobra is the world's longest venomous snake, with an average length of 3.18 to 4 m (10.4 to 13.1 ft), reaching a maximum of 5.85 m (19.2 ft).

What adaptations do king cobras have?

Because cobras hunt around dawn and dusk, they are adapted to rely on their sense of smell rather than sight when hunting. The snake's forked tongue effectively pulls scent particles into his mouth, where a special organ interprets the information.

How do king cobras protect themselves?

Hooding. One of the most famous defensive mechanisms in the entire animal kingdom is the hood of the cobra. When frightened, a cobra will raise up to one-third of its length off the ground, and through physical adaptations, spread the anterior most portion of its ribs.

Can a king cobra eat a human?

The lethality of venom depends on a combination of its potency, the volume delivered and the size of the victim. A king cobra bite can kill a human in 15 minutes and a full-grown elephant in a few hours. ... Even deadly snakes like kraits or other cobras are prey.

What are the physical characteristics of a king cobra?

A full-grown king cobra is yellow, green, brown or black. They usually also have yellowish or white crossbars or chevrons. The belly may be uniform in color or ornamented with bars. The throat is light yellow or cream-colored.

Do king cobras build nests?

The female snake, about 13 feet long, builds a nest to lay its eggs. In fact, the King Cobra is the only snake in the world that builds a nest.

What is a behavioral adaptation for snakes?

Snakes are able to use the following behavioral adaptations in order to survive: slithering away from predators, using their tongue to smell, using a...

How do king cobras hunt their prey?

Daily Life: King cobras are active by day and night, but are rarely seen. They hunt by smell, 'tasting' the air with their forked tongues to track their prey. When they get close, they use their eyes to pinpoint their victim before striking, injecting a massive dose of venom.

What do king cobras prey on?

The main predator to the king cobra is the mongoose because the mongoose is immune to its venom. However, mongooses rarely attack king cobras unless they have to.

What chemical defense does a cobra snake have?

Evolutionary pressure gave way to what Fry called “chemical krav maga”: a liquid cocktail, like the one found in the glands of modern cobras, of painful cytotoxins and lethal neurotoxins. (Snakes need a mixture because too much defensive venom would impede the ability to hunt.

What chemical defense does a cobra have?

“The fangs of these snakes are adapted to spray venom as far as 2.5 meters [8.2 feet]…” Coauthors Irina Vetter and Sam Robinson from the University of Queensland's Institute for Molecular Bioscience are among the team that demonstrated that the defensive mechanism had developed as a dominant genetic trait.

What happens if a snake spits on you?

Venom. The spat venom is generally harmless on intact mammalian skin (although contact can result in delayed blistering of the area), but can cause permanent blindness if introduced to the eye; if left untreated it may cause chemosis and corneal swelling.

Do king cobras eat their babies?

A king cobra can lay about 30 eggs, and since it's not an egg-eating species, consuming a rival's embryos isn't an option. Were the male to wait until the eggs hatched, he would have to hunt down every little hatchling. ... So far, researchers know of only one instance of a male king cobra consuming another in the wild.

Which snake bite kills fastest?

The black mamba, for example, injects up to 12 times the lethal dose for humans in each bite and may bite as many as 12 times in a single attack. This mamba has the fastest-acting venom of any snake, but humans are much larger than its usual prey so it still takes 20 minutes for you to die.

Can a snake bite an elephant?

Venom. Their venom is not the most potent among venomous snakes, but the amount of neurotoxin they can deliver in a single bite—up to two-tenths of a fluid ounce—is enough to kill 20 people, or even an elephant.