Cobras are poisonous reptiles native to Africa and Asia. There are different species of cobra, but all produce venom. They vary in length from 3 to 18 feet. Cobras can be any color from yellowish-white to dark brown. They are part of the family Elapidae.
Average Length of a Cobra
Across all of the species, cobra bodily length is usually somewhere between 3 and 7 feet long, according to Animal Bytes of the San Diego Zoo. A typical fully grown cobra is usually roughly 6 or 7 feet in length, give or take a few inches.
King Cobra
The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the longest of all cobra species, reports the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry of Queensland. These carnivorous and solitary reptiles can grow to 18 feet, which makes them the planet's longest venom-producing snakes. However, king cobras have relatively little mass for their length -- generally a maximum of 20 pounds or so, according to National Geographic.
Other Cobra Average Lengths
The Indian cobra (Naja naja), which originated in South Asia, generally achieves lengths of somewhere between 6 and 7 feet. The Egyptian cobra (Naja haje) is usually of similar length, but in extreme cases Egyptian cobras grow to almost 10 feet. The Chinese cobra (Naja atra) usually grows to between 3 and 4 feet. The Central Asian cobra (Naja oxiana) typically is within 3 and 5 feet long. It is very uncommon for Central Asian cobras to exceed that length.
Average Cobra Weight
Cobras are not the longest snakes, and they definitely aren't the heftiest either. The longest snakes are reticulated pythons (Python reticulatus), according to the San Diego Zoo. Reticulated pythons reach lengths of 33 feet in extreme cases. As for weight, cobras can't hold a candle to the green anaconda, which can weigh 550 pounds or so. Cobras typically have rather lean physiques and weigh no more than 20 pounds. Specific weights depend on the species.
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