Jameson’s (Green) Mamba

Open encyclopedia reference

Jameson's mamba (Dendroaspis jamesoni) is a species of highly venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to equatorial Africa. A member of the mamba genus, Dendroaspis, it is slender with dull green upper parts and cream underparts and generally ranges from 1.5 to 2.2 m (4.9 to 7.2 ft) in total length. Described by Scottish naturalist Thomas Traill in 1843, it has two recognised subspecies. The nominate subspecies is found in central and western sub-Saharan Africa, and the eastern black-tailed subspecies is found eastern sub-Saharan Africa, mainly western Kenya.

Predominantly arboreal, Jameson's mamba preys mainly on birds and mammals. Its venom consists of both neurotoxins and cardiotoxins. Symptoms of envenomation in humans include pain and swelling at the bite site, followed by swelling, chills, sweating, abdominal pain and vomiting, with subsequent slurred speech, difficulty breathing and paralysis. Fatalities have been recorded within three to four hours of being bitten. The venom of the eastern subspecies is around twice as potent as that of the nominate subspecies.

Wikipedia contributors, Jameson's mamba; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T10:31:27.060021+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Dendroaspis jamesoni (Traill, 1843)

Name authority

(Traill, 1843)

Common name

Jameson’s (Green) Mamba

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Squamata

Family

Elapidae

Genus

Dendroaspis

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
10. suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
11. infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
12. familyElapidae
13. genusDendroaspis
14. speciesDendroaspis jamesoni (Traill, 1843)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Dendroaspis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 276 records assigned to Elapidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Dendroaspis&species=jamesoni Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:34M6P. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.