the.com/black mamba
Not actually black — it's the inside of its mouth that's the warning label.
means A long, highly venomous African snake known for its speed, its fast-acting neurotoxic bite, and the ink-black interior of its mouth, which it flashes as a threat display.
from The 'black' in its name comes not from its skin — usually olive, gray, or brownish — but from that coffin-dark mouth lining it bares when cornered. 'Mamba' comes from Nguni-Bantu languages of southern Africa (compare Zulu 'imamba'), adopted into English and other European languages during the colonial era as naturalists cataloged the region's wildlife.
- top speed
- can hit 12 mph fleeing you
- name origin
- named for coffin-colored mouth, not skin
- venom type
- neurotoxin that shuts down breathing fast
- antivenom era
- before it, bites were nearly always fatal