Notable cobra species in Asia and identification characteristics
Explore cobra species such as Chinese, land, Fuxi and Indochinese, with their distinct characteristics, distribution ranges and hunting methods.
Báo Khoa học và Đời sống•28/11/2025
The Chinese cobra (also known as the cobra or common cobra) has the scientific name Naja atra. This species is mainly distributed in southeastern China, Hainan Island, Taiwan Island, northern Vietnam and a small part of northern Laos. Photo: ong-siau-kun. When fully grown, each Chinese cobra is about 1.2 - 1.5m long, and can even reach 2m. Photo: iNaturalist.
The Chinese cobra is active during the day but hunts mainly at night. The main food of adults includes toads, frogs, lizards, rats and other snakes. Meanwhile, the juveniles mainly eat frogs and toads. Photo: Lawrence Hylton. The cobra (also known as the spectacled cobra or puffed cobra) has the scientific name Naja kaouthia. This snake species is distributed in India, Bangladesh, a small part of southwestern China, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam... Photo: Tontan Travel. When fully grown, each individual of the cobra is about 1.3 - 1.5m long, and can even reach a length of up to 2.3m. Their skin color is often darker than that of the Chinese cobra, sometimes jet black. Photo: Tontan Travel. When feeling threatened, the cobra often raises its head and expands its gills. This snake's food includes rodents, fish, frogs and some other snakes... They can also spray venom to attack enemies but usually use their fangs to bite and inject venom into their victims. Photo: thainationalparks.
The Fuxi cobra has the scientific name Naja fuxi. This snake species is distributed in the southwestern region of China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam. Photo: guliwu_island. As adults, each individual Fu Xi cobra can reach a body length of 70 - 140 cm. Their skin is usually brown or dark in color and the juveniles are usually darker in color than the adults. Photo: guliwu_island. The Fu Xi cobra's favorite foods include amphibians, birds, rodents or some other snakes. Photo: hshh – some rights reserved (CC BY-NC).
The Indochinese spitting cobra (also known as the Siamese cobra or cat snake) has the scientific name Naja siamensis. This species is widely distributed in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam. Photo: thainationalparks. As adults, the Indochinese spitting cobra has a brighter body color and white spots and stripes. They can reach an average length of 0.9 - 1.2m, even up to 1.6m. Photo: thainationalparks. As the name suggests, the king cobra spits out venom to attack enemies from a distance. The venom can be sprayed up to 2 meters away. Photo: Tontan Travel.
Readers are invited to watch the video : Discovering many new species in the Mekong River Region. Source: THĐT1.
Báo Khoa học và Đời sống•28/11/2025
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