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RAUK - Archived Forum - ringhals

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ringhals:

Author	Message
Ross Member Joined: 26 Dec 2004 No. of posts: 25 View other posts by Ross	Posted: 26 Dec 2004 Has anyone had contact with this beautiful serpent? I am intrigued by it, any information on it will be greatly appreciated. Ross

Danny13 Senior Member Joined: 03 Oct 2004 No. of posts: 52 View other posts by Danny13	Posted: 27 Dec 2004 Rinkhals, thats the spitting cobra isnt it? (Hemachatus haemachatus) Make sure you have got your goggles on when finding this snake. Distributed in South Africa, dangerously venemous and of course can spray venom with a high level of accuracy. I believe it has live bearing and is found in grassland habitat. Thats all i know about this snake, not sure it will be much help u probably already know all that.

Ross Member Joined: 26 Dec 2004 No. of posts: 25 View other posts by Ross	Posted: 29 Dec 2004 Thank you for the info Danny!

Tony Phelps Forum Specialist Joined: 09 Mar 2003 No. of posts: 575 View other posts by Tony Phelps	Posted: 01 Jan 2005 The Rinkhals is not a true cobra - it has keeled body scales and is viviparous.Famous for shamming death. The true Naja spitters squirt venom up to about two and a half metres - the rinkhals is not as accurate and more sort of sprays its venom. It has a scattered distribution and variable colour and pattern. It is most abundant on the high veld around Jo'burg and is common around farms. In this area they are mainly black or greyish. Banded forms can be found in the Free State and the KwaZuluNatal Midlands. They are rare in the Western Cape, but I found two in the Little Karroo recently. They are not particularly aggressive and the venom is weaker than the true cobras, but it is still potentially lethal. One of the highlights of my recent trip was catching a black spitter, Naja nigricincta woodi in Namaqualand, a very impressive snake - took some DNA for Wolfgang. Tony

Ross Member Joined: 26 Dec 2004 No. of posts: 25 View other posts by Ross	Posted: 01 Jan 2005 Thank you for the info Tony! Hope you had a safe trip.

- ringhals

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