Distributed range & status
These snakes are found in plains & mid hills of many ecosystems of Sri Lanka avoiding montane regions. They are also found in Jaffna. It is also known fro India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal & Afghanistan.

Scales

They have 23-25 rows of mid body scale rows. Scales are smooth & glistering. Along the vertebral scales a shallow groove is present. When they posture the hood, scales are seen separately.

Characteristics
The body of the snake is long & cylindrical. Mid sized head is flattened & distinct from the body. On the rear of this hood are two circular ocelli patterns connected by a curved line, evoking the image of spectacles. The spectacle pattern on the hood is very variable as also the ground colour of the snake. Mid sized eyes are present. Moderately large open nostrils are present. When they posture the hood, white skin between scales are revealed.

Colour
The colour of the body & the hood vary. Dorsal body of this snake is dark brown with fine white cross bars others are with darker or lighter bands. Ventral side of the hood has a marking typically of a spectacle with 2 black spots margined with Wight out line & throat contains dark bands. The dorsal side of the hood has a white marking margined by a black strap which represents “pa” in Sinhala alphabet. Some times this may not be even clear & a triangular shaped was present in a specimen found from Peardeniya. The troat may even be white in colour. Albino snakes are white.

Venom
This snake is highly venomous that are responsible for large number of human mortalities annually. They have proteroglyphous type of venomous fangs. It contains a powerful post-synaptic neurotoxin. The venom acts on the synaptic gaps of the nerves, thereby paralyzing muscles, and possibly leading to respiratory failure or cardiac arrest. The venom components include enzymes such as hyaluronidase that cause lysis and increase the spread of the venom.

Symptoms of cobra envenomation can begin from 15 minutes to two hours after the bite, and can be fatal in less than an hour. The bitten area gets swollen & necrosis occurs on the tissues of the wound. Ptosis takes place, becomes harder to breath, vomiting feeling. The victim might be in shock & may even faint. A polyvalent serum is available for treating snakebites by these snakes. The bites cause human fatal if not given the correct medical aid in time.

Dentition
Maxillary: 2 (large fangs), Palatine: 5, Pterygoid: 11 to 12, Mandibular: 12 to 13

Behavior
These snakes are diurnal, although crepuscular & also nocturnal activity is known. They are terrestrial but also can climb trees to some extend & have the ability to swim. They spend their time on bushes at the rainy seasons. They prefer moisture places. In dry seasons they stay in ant hills or tree hollows. Habitat includes open forest, plantations and farmland. Occasionally enter human habitations in villages. They are however also able to thrive in cities, living on rodents in the sewers and underground drains.

They are very active & try to escape fast when threatened. When it couldn’t escape it tends to raise its hood, hiss & then attack. When they attack it can raise 1/3 of its body. Juveniles are more active & aggressive.

Breeding
In the breeding season of these snakes the courtship dance is shown. They are oviparous and lay their eggs between the months of April and July. Females lay from 5 to 25 eggs in an underground nest and the eggs hatch 58 to 90 days later. Communal nesting is also reported. The female is known to guard the nests until they hatch.

Growth
Newborns measure between 200-300 mm. An average cobra is about 1000-1500mm in length and rarely as long as 2000 mm.

Food
Rodents comprise their main diet. Also frogs, birds, fish, other snakes & eggs are also consumed. Cannibalism is known. 

Identification
Oriental Rat snakes are often mistaken for Cobras; however these are much longer and can easily be told apart by the stronger ridged appearance of their body. The 2 eye like spots on ventral aspect of the hood & the highly variable spectacle like marking on the dorsal aspect can be used to easily identify them.

Myths & believes
Hindu people much respect and feared, and even have its own place in Hindu mythology as a powerful deity. The Hindu god Shiv is often depicted with a protective cobra coiled around his neck. Vishnu, the preserver of the universe, is usually portrayed as reclining on the coiled body of Sheshnag, the Preeminent Serpent; a giant snake deity with multiple cobra heads

The cobra's celebrity comes from its popularity as a snake of choice for snake charmers. The cobra's dramatic threat posture makes for a unique spectacle as it appears to sway to the tune of a snake charmer's flute. Snake charmers with their cobras in a wicker basket are a common sight in gypsies that have migrated to Sri Lanka. The cobra, of course, is deaf to the snake charmer's pipe, but follows the visual cue of the moving pipe and it can sense the ground vibrations from the snake charmer's tapping foot.

There are numerous myths about cobras including the idea that they mate with ratsnakes.