Anthony Childs, an associate of Kenya's Bio-Ken snake farm, standing in front of a newly discovered giant spitting cobra.
A leading conservation group in East Africa announced that a large snake recently discovered to be a unique species is the world’s largest spitting cobra, carrying enough venom to kill at least 15 people.
WildlifeDirect said the Naja Ashei measures about 8 feet (2.5 metres) in length and lives along Kenya’s equatorial coast.
The species was named after James Ashe, who founded Bio-Ken snake farm in the region where the gigantic serpent is found.
DNA analysis has revealed that the reptile is distinctly different from any other African cobra.
“A new species of giant spitting cobra is exciting and reinforces the obvious — that there have to be many other unreported species, but hundreds are being lost as their habitats disappear under the continued mismanagement of our planet,” said the group’s chairman, Richard Leakey.
Photo: WildlifeDirect Digg This 