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{{About|snakes with the common name cobra|other uses|Cobra (disambiguation)}}
{{distinguish|Copra}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2015}}
{{Paraphyletic group
| auto = yes
| subheader = Informal name for various snakes
| fossil_range = [[Miocene]]–[[Holocene]]
| image = Indiancobra.jpg
| image_caption = [[Indian cobra]] (''Naja naja'')
| image_alt = An Indian cobra (''Naja naja'') in a defensive posture
| parent = Serpentes
| subdivision = {{bulleted list
|Genus ''[[Naja]]'' of family [[Elapidae]]
|Several species within other genera of Elapidae
|Species ''[[Hydrodynastes gigas]]'' of family [[Colubridae]]
}}}}

'''Cobra''' is the [[common name]] of various [[venomous snakes]], most of which belong to the genus ''[[Naja]]''.<ref>{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Cobra|volume=6|page=613}}</ref>

Many cobras are capable of rearing upwards and producing a [[hood (zoology)|hood]] when threatened.{{efn|Two kinds of non-venomous snake, the [[hognose snake]]s and the [[striped keelback]], also rear upwards and produce hoods but are not considered "cobras"; likewise, some venomous elapid snakes, such as the [[black mamba]], are also capable of producing hoods but are not called "cobras".}}

==Other snakes known as "cobras"==
While the members of the genus ''Naja'' constitute the true cobras, the name ''cobra'' is also applied to these other genera and species:

* The [[rinkhals]], ringhals or ring-necked spitting cobra (''Hemachatus haemachatus'') so-called for its neck band as well as its habit of rearing upwards and producing a hood when threatened<ref name="BücherlBuckley2013">{{cite book|author1=Wolfgang Bücherl|author2=Eleanor E. Buckley|author3=Venancio Deulofeu|title=Venomous Animals and Their Venoms: Venomous Vertebrates|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dCzLBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA492|date=17 September 2013|publisher=Elsevier|isbn=978-1-4832-6363-2|page=492}}</ref>
* The [[king cobra]] or hamadryad (''Ophiophagus hannah'')<ref name="Surgery2013">{{cite book|author=United States. Department of the Navy. Bureau of Medicine and Surgery|title=Venomous Snakes of the World: A Manual for Use by U. S. Amphibious Forces|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zQlECgAAQBAJ&pg=PA217|year=2013|publisher=Skyhorse|isbn=978-1-62087-623-7|page=217}}</ref>
* The two species of tree cobras, Goldie's tree cobra (''[[Pseudohaje goldii]]'') and the black tree cobra (''[[Pseudohaje nigra]]'')<ref name="O'Shea2008">{{cite book|author=Mark O'Shea|title=Venomous Snakes of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_bBz1-v1WUwC&pg=PA74|date=20 February 2008|publisher=New Holland|isbn=978-1-84773-086-2|page=74}}{{Dead link|date=April 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
* The two species of shield-nosed cobras, the Cape coral snake (''[[Aspidelaps lubricus]]'') and the [[shield-nosed cobra]] (''Aspidelaps scutatus'')<ref name="O'Shea2008"/>{{rp|p.76}}
* The two species of black desert cobras or desert black snakes, ''[[Walterinnesia aegyptia]]'' and ''Walterinnesia morgani'', neither of which rears upwards and produces a hood when threatened<ref name="O'Shea2008"/>{{rp|p.65}}
* The eastern coral snake or American cobra (''[[Micrurus fulvius]]''), which also does not rear upwards and produce a hood when threatened<ref name="O'Shea2008"/>{{rp|p.30}}

The false water cobra (''[[Hydrodynastes gigas]]'') is the only "cobra" species that is not a member of the Elapidae. It does not rear upwards, produces only a slight flattening of the neck when threatened, and is only mildly venomous.<ref name="O'Shea2008"/>{{rp|p.53}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Wiktionary}}

{{SIA|snakes}}
{{Animal common name|snakes}}

[[Category:Broad-concept articles]]
[[Category:Snakes]]
[[Category:Predatory animals]]