Dendroaspis viridis
| Western green mamba | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae |
| Subfamily: | Elapinae |
| Genus: | Dendroaspis |
| Species: | D. viridis |
| Binomial name | |
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Dendroaspis viridis (Hallowell, 1844) |
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| Dendroaspis viridis range | |
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The western green mamba (Dendroaspis viridis), also known as the West African green mamba or Hallowell's green mamba, is a long, thin, and highly venomous snake of the mamba genus, Dendroaspis. This species was first described in 1844 by the American herpetologist Edward Hallowell. The western green mamba is a fairly large and predominantly arboreal species, capable of navigating through trees swiftly and gracefully. It will also descend to ground level to pursue prey such as rodents and other small mammals.
The western green mamba is a very alert, nervous, and extremely agile snake that lives mainly in the coastal tropical rainforest, thicket, and woodland regions of western Africa. Like all the other mambas, the western green mamba is a highly venomous elapid species. Its venom is a highly potent mixture of rapid-acting presynaptic and postsynaptic neurotoxins (dendrotoxins), cardiotoxins and fasciculins. Some consider this species to not be a particularly aggressive snake, but others have suggested that they are extremely nervous and are prone to attack aggressively when cornered. Conflict with humans is low compared to some other species found in the region. Bites to people by this species are quite uncommon. Their mortality rate, however, is high; many of the recorded bites have been fatal. Rapid progression of severe, life-threatening symptoms are hallmarks of mamba bites. Bites with envenomation can be rapidly fatal.
Dendroaspis viridis was first described by the American herpetologist and physician Edward Hallowell in 1844. In addition to being called the western green mamba, this species is also commonly known as the West African green mamba or Hallowell's green mamba.
The generic name, Dendroaspis, derives from Ancient Greek dendro (δένδρο), meaning "tree", and aspis (ασπίς), which is understood to mean "shield", but also denotes "cobra" or simply "snake", in particular "snake with hood (shield)". Via Latin aspis, it is the source of the English word "asp". In ancient texts, aspis or asp often referred to the Egyptian cobra (Naja haje), in reference to its shield-like hood. Thus, "Dendroaspis" literally means tree asp, reflecting the arboreal nature of most of the species within the genus. The genus was first described by the German ornithologist and herpetologist Hermann Schlegel in 1848. Slowinski et al. (1997) pointed out that the relationships of the African genus Dendroaspis are problematical. However, evidence suggests that Dendroaspis, Ophiophagus, Bungarus, and Hemibungarus form a solid non-coral snake Afro-Asiatic clade. The specific name viridis is of Latin origin and means "green".
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