NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Aspidelaps scutatus (Smith, 1849)
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.
Eastern Shield-nose Snake (Aspidelaps scutatus fulafulus) in South Africa
Dylan Leonard · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The shield-nosed cobra (Aspidelaps scutatus), also known commonly as the eastern shield-nose snake, is a species of venomous snake of the family Elapidae. The species is native to southern Africa. There are three recognized subspecies.
Wikipedia contributors, Shield-nosed cobra; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T14:19:52.922088+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Aspidelaps scutatus (Smith, 1849)
- Name authority
- (Smith, 1849)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Elapidae
- Genus
- Aspidelaps
- 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
- genusAspidelaps
- speciesAspidelaps scutatus (Smith, 1849)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Aspidelaps scutatus bachrani Mertens, 1954 Mertens, 1954 | synonym |
| Cyrtophis scutatus Smith, 1849 Smith, 1849 | synonym |
| Crytophis scutatus Smith, 1849 Smith, 1849 | synonym |
| Naja fula-fula Bianconi, 1849 Bianconi, 1849 | synonym |
| Naia fula-fula Bianconi, 1850 Bianconi, 1850 | 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=Aspidelaps&species=scutatus 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:HDSF. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.