Naja peroescobari
Naja peroescobari, the São Tomé island forest cobra or Pero Escobar's cobra, is a species of snake in the family Elapidae.[2]
| Naja peroescobari | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae |
| Genus: | Naja |
| Species: | N. peroescobari |
| Binomial name | |
| Naja peroescobari Ceríaco, Marques, Schmitz & Bauer, 2017 | |
It was previously considered to be the same species as the forest cobra (Naja melanoleuca) found on the African mainland, and was believed to have been introduced by Portuguese settlers to limit the proliferation of rats.[3] In 2017 it was discovered to be a different species endemic to the island of São Tomé, São Tomé and Príncipe.[4] The holotype was found near the beach Praia Inhame, southwest of Porto Alegre.[5] It is named after the Portuguese explorer Pêro Escobar.[4]
Naja peroescobari is one of the few predators on the island of terrestrial mammals such as black rats (Rattus rattus) and weasels (Mustela nivalis).[4] Not much is known about the venom of this species, but it likely has slightly cytotoxic and neurotoxic properties.
References
- Ceríaco, L.M.P. 2021. Naja peroescobari. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T133837440A133837443. Downloaded on 05 September 2021.
- "ATS, "Le cobra noir de l'île de Sao Tomé n'a pas été importé par l'homme"" [Black Cobra of São Tomé Island Has Never Been Introduced by Humans] (in French). ArcINfo. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 2017-10-21.
- Sean Mowbray, ‘Invasive’ snake is really a new species and should be protected, New Scientist, September 27, 2017
- Ceríaco, L.M.P; Marques, M.P.; Schmitz, A. & Bauer, A.M. (2017). "The "Cobra-preta" of São Tomé Island, Gulf of Guinea, is a new species of Naja Laurenti, 1768 (Squamata: Elapidae)". Zootaxa. 4324: 121–141. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4324.1.7. Retrieved 1 November 2018.
- Naja peroescobari, The Reptile Database