Black mamba: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Black mamba Dendroaspis polylepis Least concern

Where the black mamba lives, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Recorded in (GBIF)Representative wild record

Pin and shaded countries are approximate. The pin is a representative wild-collected museum specimen (a central record among 6 open-licence GBIF records – few open-licence observations were available), not an official range. Method · Records on GBIF · See snakes on the world map

Scientific name	Dendroaspis polylepis
Group	Snakes
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Class	Reptile
Order	Squamata
Family	Elapidae

Is the black mamba endangered?

The black mamba’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the black mamba?

The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is a reptile in the order Squamata and the family Elapidae, genus Dendroaspis. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the black mamba

The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is a species of highly venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. It is native to parts of sub-Saharan Africa. First formally described by Albert Günther in 1864, it is the second-longest venomous snake after the king cobra; mature specimens generally exceed 2 m (6 ft 7 in) and commonly grow to 3 m (9.8 ft). Specimens of 4.3 to 4.5 m (14 to 15 ft) have been reported. It varies in colour from grey to dark brown. Juvenile black mambas tend to be more pale in colour than adults, and darken with age. Despite the common name, the black mamba is not black; the colour name describes rather the inside of its mouth, which it displays when feeling threatened.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Black mamba (revision 1366726328), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q188690 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).