<strong>In praise of subgenera: taxonomic status of cobras of the genus <em>Naja </em>Laurenti (Serpentes: Elapidae)</strong>

VAN WALLACH; WOLFGANG WÜSTER; DONALD G. BROADLEY

doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2236.1.2

Issue: Vol. 2236 No. 1: 21 Sep. 2009

Type: Articles

Published: 2009-09-21

DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2236.1.2

Page range: 26–36

Abstract views: 106

PDF downloaded: 87

**In praise of subgenera: taxonomic status of cobras of the genus Naja Laurenti (Serpentes: Elapidae)**

VAN WALLACH⁺⁻
WOLFGANG WÜSTER⁺⁻
DONALD G. BROADLEY⁺⁻

Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA 02138, USA

School of Biological Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK

Biodiversity Foundation for Africa, P.O. Box FM 730, Famona, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

Reptilia Naja Uraeus Boulengerina Afronaja subgen. nov. taxonomy Africa Asia

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Abstract

The genus Naja Laurenti, 1768, is partitioned into four subgenera. The typical form is restricted to 11 Asian species. The name Uraeus Wagler, 1830, is revived for a group of four non-spitting cobras inhabiting savannas and open formations of Africa and Arabia, while Boulengerina Dollo, 1886, is applied to four non-spitting African species of forest cobras, including terrestrial, aquatic and semi-fossorial forms. A new subgenus is erected for seven species of African spitting cobras. We recommend the subgenus rank as a way of maximising the phylogenetic information content of classifications while retaining nomenclatural stability.

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