Hemachatus haemachatus

(Bonnaterre, 1790)

Vernacular names
English : Rinkhals
French : Ringhal

Classification
Class : Reptilia
Order : Squamata
Family : Elapidae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
Adults can reach a length of 110 cm. Head is broad and short, with triangular upturned snout. Scales are ridged and keeled. Coloration is black on belly with two transversal clear stripes near neck. Back is striped beige and black.

Range and habitat
The species occurs in southern Africa, from Zimbabwe to Lesotho, Swaziland and eastern South Africa. Lives in grasslands and moist savanna, often near human settlement, to 2500 m.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : LEAST CONCERN
CITES : Not listed
Status : The species is relatively common around its large range. It isn’t currently threatened but some of its populations in Zimbabwe and around Cape Town have been declining to near local extinction.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

Back to “Cobras, sea snakes and relatives” page