NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Cape Cobra
Naja nivea (Linnaeus, 1758)
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
The Cape cobra (Naja nivea), also called the yellow cobra, is a moderate-sized, highly venomous species of cobra inhabiting a wide variety of biomes across southern Africa, including arid savanna, fynbos, bushveld, desert, and semidesert regions.
The species is diurnal and is a feeding generalist, preying on a number of different species and carrion. Predators of this species include birds of prey, honey badgers, and various species of mongooses. The Cape cobra is also known as the geelslang (yellow snake) and bruinkapel (brown cobra) in South Africa. Afrikaans-speaking South Africans also refer to the Cape cobra as koperkapel (copper cobra), mainly because of a rich yellow colour variation. This species has no known subspecies.
Wikipedia contributors, Cape cobra; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:05:18.864707+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Naja nivea (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Name authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Common name
- Cape 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 nivea (Linnaeus, 1758)
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 |
| Christy's Water CobraNaja christyi (Boulenger, 1904) | 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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Naia flava Boulenger, 1887 Boulenger, 1887 | synonym |
| Naja gutturalis Smith, 1838 Smith, 1838 | synonym |
| Naja intermixta Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854 | synonym |
| Coluber niveus Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
| Naja flava Sternfeld, 1910 Sternfeld, 1910 | synonym |
| Vipera (Echidna) flava Merrem, 1820 Merrem, 1820 | synonym |
| Naja haje var. capensis Jan, 1863 Jan, 1863 | 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=nivea 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:45KXQ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.