Nocturnal and crepuscular, with some limited diurnal activity. Venomous to humans.
Least Concern
A large, fairly slender snake. Largest Egyptian specimen has a total length of about 1510 mm. Tail short, tail / total length = 0.14; nostril in a divided nasal; 7 supralabials, fourth enters the eye; eye moderate, iris dark; 214-228 ventrals, 51-59 paired subcaudals, dorsals smooth, 25 scale rows around mid-body, anal entire (based on 7 Egyptian specimens). Dorsum brownish gray, with two broad dark bands on the nape and the neck. Supralabials and throat buff; a dark line between the eye and upper lip. Venter buff with two dark bands across the neck.
Upper Nile Valley and Gebel Elba. Northernmost record in the Nile Valley comes from Durunka, Asyut. Recorded also from Qena, Luxor, Aswan, and from several localities along the shores of Lake Nasser, where it is fairly common, south to Adendan just north of the border with Sudan. The species was first recorded from the Gebel Elba region in April 1997, when a freshly shed skin of a large specimen was found in a small tributary of Wadi Aideib at about 500 m altitude. Another specimen was encountered while active at night in another tributary of Wadi Aideib in November 2000.
North East Africa, from southern Egypt to northern Sudan and Eritrea, west to Chad and Niger.
Dry savannah and semi-desert. In Egypt found in marginal cultivations in the upper Nile Valley, on the rocky shoreline of Lake Nasser and adjacent desert, and on lightly vegetated hills in Acacia parkland in the Gebel Elba region.
Uncommon and localized. In Egypt it is Near Threatened.
The Nubian spitting cobra or Egyptian spitting cobra (Naja nubiae) is a species of spitting cobra native to Africa.
A relatively small spitting cobra. Maximum recorded length 148 cm. Colour and pattern: Brownish-grey overall, scale bases and skin between scales black. Belly slightly lighter. Dark band across nape, dark ring across throat and neck, usually an additional dark band on belly, bands may fade with age. Scalation: 207–226 ventrals, 58–72 subcaudals, 23–29 scale rows around neck, 23–27 scale rows at midbody, 1–2 preoculars, 6–8 supralabials.[3]
A scattered distribution in north-eastern Africa: Egypt (Nile Valley), Sudan (Nile Valley, Darfur), western Eritrea, Chad (Ennedi Plateau) and Niger (Aïr Mountains).[3]
It was previously confused with the red spitting cobra (Naja pallida), but was distinguished based on detailed morphological and mitochondrial DNA analysis.[3]
The Nubian spitting cobra or Egyptian spitting cobra (Naja nubiae) is a species of spitting cobra native to Africa.
