MAMBA

(Dendroaspis, or Dendraspis) any of four or five species of large, dangerous, poisonous snakes belonging to the cobra family, Elapidae. Mambas occur in sub-Saharan Africa, where they hunt small animals in trees. Mambas are slender, agile snakes with large scales and long front teeth. The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis), as long as 4.3 metres (14 feet), may be dull gray or greenish brown or quite black, depending on age. It dens in rocky open country. An aggressive snake, it rears up to strike, inflicting a bite on a man's head or trunk; the fatality rate is nearly 100 percent without antivenin treatment. The green mamba (e.g., D. angusticeps) is smaller (to 2.7 m or 9 ft), more strongly arboreal, and less aggressive.