🐍Black mamba
The black mamba is a species of highly venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. It is native to parts of sub-Saharan Africa. First formally described by Albert Günther in 1864, it is the second-longest venomous snake after the king cobra; mature specimens generally exceed 2 m and commonly grow to 3 m (9.8 ft). Specimens of 4.3 to 4.5 m have been reported. It varies in colour from grey to dark brown. Juvenile black mambas tend to be more pale in colour than adults, and darken with age. Despite the common name, the black mamba is not black; the colour name describes rather the inside of its mouth, which it displays when feeling threatened.
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2021.
- Body mass
- 31 kg
- Body length
- 4.25 m
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 26 years
Everything we know about the Black mamba
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass31 kgrecord 8.21 kg · ReptTraitsAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: acceptable
Record: largest individual on record
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Body length4.25 mmaximum recordedReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
Maximum lifespan26 yearsrecord 26 years · ReptTraitsAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: acceptable
Record: largest individual on record
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Gestation85 daysAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: acceptable
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
DietCarnivorousReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
Activity cycleDiurnalReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
VenomousYesReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
Snout–vent length1.41 mmaximum recordedReptTraitsDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: ReptTraits · v1.2 (Oskyrko et al. 2024) · CC BY 4.0
Volume l31 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Black mamba yet: shoulder height, top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›classSquamata
- ›familyElapidae
- ›genusDendroaspis
- ›speciesDendroaspis polylepis
- superorderLepidosauria
- orderLizards & snakes · Squamata
- infraorderSnakes · Serpentes
- genusDendroaspis
All 12 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- superclassSarcopterygii
- superclassTetrapoda
- orderSauria
- superorderLepidosauria
- orderLizards & snakes · Squamata
- infraorderSnakes · Serpentes
- genusDendroaspis
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