NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Christy's Water Cobra
Naja christyi (Boulenger, 1904)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Naja christyi (formerly Boulengerina christyi), commonly known as the Congo water cobra or Christy's water cobra, is a species of venomous snakes belonging to the family Elapidae. The species is native to Sub-Saharan Africa.
This species was formerly in the genus Boulengerina, but more recent research by Wallach et al. has shown that Boulengerina is actually a subgenus and Boulengerina christyi is a synonym of Naja christyi. This species has no known subspecies.
Wikipedia contributors, Naja christyi; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T09:32:17.449731+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Naja christyi (Boulenger, 1904)
- Name authority
- (Boulenger, 1904)
- Common name
- Christy's Water Cobra
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Elapidae
- Genus
- Naja
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyElapidae
- genusNaja
- speciesNaja christyi (Boulenger, 1904)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Naja. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Ringed Water CobraNaja annulata Peters, 1876 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chinese CobraNaja atra Cantor, 1842 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Egyptian CobraNaja haje (Linnaeus, 1758) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mandalay CobraNaja mandalayensis Slowinski & Wüster, 2000 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Black and White CobraNaja melanoleuca Hallowell, 1857 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Many-banded SnakeNaja multifasciata (Werner, 1902) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Common cobraNaja naja (Linnaeus, 1758) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Black-necked Spitting CobraNaja nigricollis Reinhardt, 1843 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nubian Spitting CobraNaja nubiae Wüster & Broadley, 2003 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| African CobraNaja pallida Boulenger, 1896 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Philippine CobraNaja philippinensis Taylor, 1922 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Peters' CobraNaja samarensis Peters, 1861 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Limnonaja christyi Schmidt, 1923 Schmidt, 1923 | synonym |
| Boulengerina christyi Boulenger, 1904 Boulenger, 1904 | synonym |
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.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Naja&species=christyi 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:45KWL. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.