---
title: "What the sources say about the Black Mamba | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "49 claims from the Black Mamba profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Black Mamba (*Dendroaspis polylepis*)

> 49 claims from the Black Mamba profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Black Mamba](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/black-mamba/)

## Dendroaspis polylepis (black mamba). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Dendroaspis_polylepis/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Its scales are olive-brown, but the inky black mouth it flashes when cornered | can be olive, brownish, gray, or sometimes khaki in color ... The inside of the mouth is a dark blue to "inky" black color ... A cornered black mamba will raise its head far off the ground, open its mouth |
| Wooded savanna, rocky hills, and riverine forest in south and east Africa | Black mambas are common in sub-Saharan areas of south and east Africa. ... individuals prefer wooded savannah, rocky hills, or riverine forests with rocks or downed trees that provide cover |
| Rodents, hyraxes, squirrels, and occasional birds | Black mambas feed mostly on small mammals, including rodents, squirrels, and dassies or hyraxes. They also take birds occasionally. |
| backed by speeds of up to 20 km/h (12.5 mph) | Black mambas are capable of relatively high speeds, up to 20 km/h (about 12.5mph) |
| Black on the Inside | Contrary to their common name, black mambas are not actually black. ... The inside of the mouth is a dark blue to "inky" black color. |
| The black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is not black. Its scales run olive, brown, grey or sometimes khaki | Contrary to their common name, black mambas are not actually black. Dendroaspis polylepis can be olive, brownish, gray, or sometimes khaki in color. |
| which is dark blue to inky black and gets flashed as a threat display when the snake is cornered | The inside of the mouth is a dark blue to "inky" black color. ... A cornered black mamba will raise its head far off the ground, open its mouth, expand a narrow hood, flick its tongue and hiss before striking. |
| Adults typically run 2.2 to 2.7 metres (about 7 to 9 feet) long | adults are 2.0 to 3.0 m, with an average length of 2.2 to 2.7m (note: 7 to 9 feet is a metric-to-imperial conversion of 2.2-2.7 m, not a separate figure from the source.) |
| It can reach speeds of up to 20 km/h (12.5 mph), carrying as much as a third of its body off the ground as it goes | Black mambas are capable of relatively high speeds, up to 20 km/h (about 12.5mph), traveling with up to a third of its body raised off the ground. |
| a black mamba is shy by nature and would usually rather retreat than fight | Dendroaspis polylepis are shy and secretive. They prefer to avoid confrontation but will become aggressive when threatened. ... If the intruder slowly moves away from the mamba, the snake will usually retreat. ... preferring to flee from danger when threatened. |
| and it can be fatal | Strikes will be numerous and rapid, and can be fatal to humans. |
| Built to Hunt, and on Its Own From Birth | The young must fend for themselves directly from birth. |
| A black mamba hunts mostly rodents, hyraxes, squirrels and the occasional bird, striking and then waiting for the venom to work before swallowing its prey | Black mambas feed mostly on small mammals, including rodents, squirrels, and dassies or hyraxes. They also take birds occasionally. Black mambas strike once or twice and wait for the prey to become paralyzed and die before swallowing them. |
| It ranges across savanna, rocky hills and riverine forest from Eritrea south to South Africa and west to Namibia | Black mambas are common in sub-Saharan areas of south and east Africa. They can be found as far north as Eritrea, through South Africa, and as far west as Namibia. ... individuals prefer wooded savannah, rocky hills, or riverine forests |
| where it is left undisturbed, it keeps a permanent lair to return to | If undisturbed, D. polylepis will maintain a permanent lair to which it returns when not hunting, basking, mating, or seeking refuge elsewhere. |
| Females lay their eggs in a burrow or similar spot and abandon them, and the young hatch two to three months later to fend for themselves from the start | females lay anywhere from 6 to 17 eggs, which will hatch within 2 to 3 months. ... she will deposit them in a burrow or other suitable hatching location and then abandon them. The young must fend for themselves directly from birth. |
| It can reach speeds of up to 20 kilometers per hour (about 12.5 miles per hour), carrying as much as a third of its body off the ground as it goes. | Black mambas are capable of relatively high speeds, up to 20 km/h (about 12.5mph), traveling with up to a third of its body raised off the ground. |
| That is quick for a snake, but a black mamba is shy at heart: given the choice, it usually retreats rather than fights. | Dendroaspis polylepis are shy and secretive. They prefer to avoid confrontation ... the snake will usually retreat. ... Black mambas are capable of relatively high speeds ... preferring to flee from danger when threatened. |
| shy by nature and would usually rather retreat than fight | Dendroaspis polylepis are shy and secretive. They prefer to avoid confrontation but will become aggressive when threatened. ... If the intruder slowly moves away from the mamba, the snake will usually retreat. ... preferring to flee from danger when threatened. (note: vibe.reason (#692/#693)) |
| speeds of up to 20 km/h with as much as a third of its body off the ground | Black mambas are capable of relatively high speeds, up to 20 km/h (about 12.5mph), traveling with up to a third of its body raised off the ground. (note: vibe.reason (#692/#693)) |

## Black mamba. National Geographic.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/reptiles/facts/black-mamba

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| the name comes instead from the inside of its mouth | They get their name not from their skin color, which tends to be olive to gray, but rather from the blue-black color of the inside of their mouth, which they display when threatened. |
| the biggest reach up to 14 feet (about 4.3 metres) | reaching up to 14 feet in length (note: 4.3 metres is a conversion of 14 feet. "Africa's longest venomous snake" was cut in the final pass: a record resting on a reference work alone.) |
| it is light, weighing up to about 1.6 kilograms (3.5 pounds) | Weight : Up to 3.5 pounds (note: 1.6 kg is a conversion of 3.5 lb, matching the profile's own battleStats.weightKg. AnAge lists an adult weight of 30,758 g, which cannot be right for a snake of this length and is not used.) |
| reach speeds of up to 20 km/h (12.5 mph) | They are also among the fastest snakes in the world, slithering at speeds of up to 12.5 miles per hour. (note: Current corroboration for the 2005 ADW speed figure.) |
| though encroachment on its territory is putting pressure on it and bringing it into more potentially dangerous contact with people | Encroachment on the black mamba's territory is not only putting pressure on the species but contributes to more potentially dangerous human contact with these snakes. |
| Its skin tends to be olive to grey, not black. It gets its name from the blue-black inside of its mouth, which it shows off when threatened. | They get their name not from their skin color, which tends to be olive to gray, but rather from the blue-black color of the inside of their mouth, which they display when threatened. |
| Cornered, a black mamba raises its head, sometimes with a third of its body off the ground, spreads a cobra-like neck flap, opens its black mouth and hisses. | when cornered, these snakes will raise their heads, sometimes with a third of their body off the ground, spread their cobra-like neck-flap, open their black mouths, and hiss. |

## AnAge entry for Dendroaspis polylepis. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Dendroaspis_polylepis

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In captivity, black mambas have lived as long as 26.2 years | Maximum longevity 26.2 years (captivity) (note: Supersedes the older Animal Diversity Web captive record of 11 years (docs/fact-check.md, "Check the date"); ADW's figure is not used on the page.) |
| the young hatch two to three months later | Incubation 85 days (note: Current corroboration for the 2005 ADW incubation figure: 85 days falls within two to three months.) |

## Branch et al. (2021). Dendroaspis polylepis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T177584A15627370.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2021-2.rlts.t177584a15627370.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The IUCN rates the species Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |

## Laustsen et al. (2015). Unveiling the nature of black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) venom through venomics and antivenom immunoprofiling: Identification of key toxin targets for antivenom development. Journal of Proteomics.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jprot.2015.02.002

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| backs a venom that attacks the nervous system two ways at once | α-neurotoxins, which induce post-synaptic blockade of the neuromuscular junctions, followed by dendrotoxins, which inhibit the voltage-dependent potassium channels. The combination of these two types of toxins in the venom underscores the presence of a dual strategy |
| Venom that attacks the nervous system two ways at once | α-neurotoxins, which induce post-synaptic blockade of the neuromuscular junctions, followed by dendrotoxins, which inhibit the voltage-dependent potassium channels. The combination of these two types of toxins in the venom underscores the presence of a dual strategy |
| neurotoxins that block nerve-muscle signals | α-neurotoxins, which induce post-synaptic blockade of the neuromuscular junctions |
| A Venom With Two Ways to Kill | Assessment of acute toxicity revealed that the most lethal components were α-neurotoxins and, to a lower extent, dendrotoxins. |
| The venom's other major weapon is a set of alpha-neurotoxins | The most abundant proteins were Kunitz-type proteinase inhibitors, which include the unique mamba venom components 'dendrotoxins', and α-neurotoxins and other representatives of the three-finger toxin family. |
| The alpha-neurotoxins are the deadlier of the two, with dendrotoxins second | Assessment of acute toxicity revealed that the most lethal components were α-neurotoxins and, to a lower extent, dendrotoxins. |
| together they make a two-pronged attack for bringing down prey | The combination of these two types of toxins in the venom underscores the presence of a dual strategy that results in a highly effective mechanism for prey subduction. |
| In people, a bite brings on severe nerve symptoms fast | The rapid onset and severity of neurotoxic clinical manifestations in envenomings by D. polylepis |
| Fast. A black mamba bite brings on severe nerve symptoms that set in rapidly. | The rapid onset and severity of neurotoxic clinical manifestations in envenomings by D. polylepis |
| The deadliest toxins in the venom are alpha-neurotoxins, which block the junctions where nerves signal muscles, followed by dendrotoxins, which jam potassium channels. | The proteins showing highest acute toxicity were α-neurotoxins, which induce post-synaptic blockade of the neuromuscular junctions, followed by dendrotoxins, which inhibit the voltage-dependent potassium channels. |

## Ainsworth et al. (2018). The medical threat of mamba envenoming in sub-Saharan Africa revealed by genus-wide analysis of venom composition, toxicity and antivenomics profiling of available antivenoms. Journal of Proteomics.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jprot.2017.08.016

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Black mamba venom is unusual even among its own relatives. | Whereas the green mambas, D. viridis, D. angusticeps, D. j. jamesoni and D. j. kaimosae, express 3FTx-predominant venoms, black mamba (D. polylepis) venom is dominated by dendrotoxins I and K. ... this major difference in venom composition |
| While green mambas carry venom dominated by three-finger toxins, the black mamba's is dominated by dendrotoxins | the green mambas, D. viridis, D. angusticeps, D. j. jamesoni and D. j. kaimosae, express 3FTx-predominant venoms, black mamba (D. polylepis) venom is dominated by dendrotoxins I and K |

## Harvey & Robertson (2004). Dendrotoxins: Structure-Activity Relationships and Effects on Potassium Ion Channels. Current Medicinal Chemistry.

https://doi.org/10.2174/0929867043363820

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| dendrotoxins that jam nerve potassium channels | they block particular subtypes of voltage-dependent potassium channels of the Kv1 subfamily in neurones |
| a family of proteins built on the same scaffold as some enzyme blockers, but with little or none of that blocking power | they are homologous to Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitors, such as aprotinin (BPTI). The dendrotoxins have little or no anti-protease activity |
| Instead, dendrotoxins jam potassium channels in nerve cells. | The dendrotoxins have little or no anti-protease activity, but they block particular subtypes of voltage-dependent potassium channels of the Kv1 subfamily in neurones |
| toxin K, blocks a nerve-cell potassium channel at picomolar concentrations, an almost vanishingly small amount | toxin K, also from the black mamba Dendroaspis polylepis, preferentially blocks Kv1.1 channels and is active at picomolar concentrations |

## Tsetlin (1999). Snake venom alpha-neurotoxins and other 'three-finger' proteins. European Journal of Biochemistry.

https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1432-1327.1999.00623.x

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| three-finger toxins that block the acetylcholine receptors nerves use to signal muscles | snake venom alpha-neurotoxins which target different muscle-type and neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (note: snake-1999 reviews alpha-neurotoxins across snakes; unveiling-2015 states that the black mamba's own alpha-neurotoxins "induce post-synaptic blockade of the neuromuscular junctions", which is the blocking.) |

## Diochot et al. (2012). Black mamba venom peptides target acid-sensing ion channels to abolish pain. Nature.

https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11494

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The same venom also carries peptides called mambalgins, which block ASICs, acid-sensing channels widely considered key players in the pain pathway | Acid-sensing ion channels (ASICs) are generally considered principal players in the pain pathway ... a new class of three-finger peptides from another snake, the black mamba, is able to abolish pain through inhibition of ASICs |
| In mice they can dull pain as strongly as morphine, with much less tolerance buildup and no breathing trouble | These peptides, which we call mambalgins, are not toxic in mice but show a potent analgesic effect upon central and peripheral injection that can be as strong as morphine. This effect is, however, resistant to naloxone, and mambalgins cause much less tolerance than morphine and no respiratory distress. |