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Biography
other usesTaxobox| name = Dendroaspis | image = Eastern Green Mamba 02.jpg| image_caption = Eastern Green Mamba | regnum = Animal ia| phylum = Chordate|Chordata | subphylum = Vertebrata | classis = Reptile|Reptilia | ordo = Squamata | subordo = Serpentes | familia = Elapidae | genus = Dendroaspis | genus_authority = Hermann Schlegel|Schlegel , 1848www.dahmstierleben.deWikispecies| subdivision_ranks = Species| subdivision =
Dendroaspis angusticeps
'' Jameson's mamba|Dendroaspis jamesoni
Dendroaspis polylepis
Dendroaspis viridis
| range_map = | range_map_caption =
Mambas , of the genus Dendroaspis (literally "tree snake"), are a group of highly venomous , fast-moving land-dwelling snake s of Africa . They belong to the family of Elapidae which includes cobra s, coral snake s, taipan s, Pseudonaja|brown snake s, tiger snake s, Acanthophis|death adders , Bungarus|krait s and, debatably, sea snake s (although sea snakes are now classed as Hydrophiidae ). Mambas are feared throughout their ranges in Africa, especially the Black mamba . In Africa , there are many legends and stories describing these snakes.
Behavior
Most of the members of this genus (for example green mambas) are arboreal . However, the black mamba is terrestrial. They are diurnal animal|diurnal : during the day, they actively hunt their prey of small mammal s, bird s, and lizard s, and return to the same lair nightly.
Mambas are related to the cobra s ( Elapidae ); their threat display, when they stretch a slightly smaller "hood" while gaping their mouth, is similar.
Many people believe that the black mamba will chase and attack humans. However, this is probably misunderstood because of the speed with which this species can move.cite book|title= The new encyclopedia of Reptiles (Serpent)|year=2002|publisher=Time Book Ltd The black mamba usually uses its speed to escape from threats. Humans are actually their main predators, rather than their prey; mambas generally avoid contact with humans.
Venom
All mambas are highly venomous. Their venoms consist mostly of neurotoxins (known as dendrotoxin s). Besides the neurotoxins, they also carry cardiotoxin scite journal |authors=van Aswegen G, van Rooyen JM, Fourie C, Oberholzer G. |title=Putative cardiotoxicity of the venoms of three mamba species. |journal=Journal of Wilderness and Environmental Medicine |volume=7|issue=2 |year=May 1996 |pmid=11990104 |url= http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11990104 |pages=115–21 http://toxipedia.org/display/toxipedia/Black+mamba Toxipedia (Black Mamba) and fasciculins. Other components may include calcicludine , which is a known component of the eastern green mamba 's venom and calciseptine , which is a component of black mamba venom. Toxicity of individual specimens within the same species and subspecies can vary greatly based on several factors, including geographical region. Even the weather and altitude can influence toxicity (Ernst and Zug et al. 1996). A bite can be fatal to humans without access to proper Snakebite (bite)#Pressure immobilization|first aid and subsequent antivenom treatment, as it shuts down the lungs and heart. The western green mamba ( D. viridis ), eastern green mamba ( D. angusticeps ), and Jameson's mamba ( D. jamesoni ) possess venom similar in composition and effects to that of the black mamba 's ( D. polylepis ). However, as their venoms are less toxic (based upon LD50 studies), their temperaments are generally not as aggressive or as explosive when provoked, and none of the three inject as much venom as the black mamba, their bites are materially less dangerous.
Prior to the availability of antivenom, envenomations by members of this genus carried a high fatality rate. An untreated black mamba bite has a mortality rate of 100%, http://www.seanthomas.net/oldsite/danger.html Mortality Rate http://www.thirteen.org/pressroom/pdf/nature/season28/Nature28BlackMambarelease.pdf Nature-Black Mamba http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/episodes/black-mamba/introduction/5260/ Black Mamba Introcite web|url= http://drdavidson.ucsd.edu/portals/0/snake/dendroa3.htm|title=IMMEDIATE FIRST AID|accessdate=2011-09-22|last=Davidson|first=Terence|publisher=University of California, San Diego but presently, fatalities have become much rarer due to wide availability of antivenom .
Mamba toxins
Mamba toxin (or dendrotoxin) consists of several components, with different targets. Examples are:
Dendrotoxin 1 , which inhibits the K+ channels at the pre and post-synaptic level in the intestinal smooth muscle. It also inhibits Ca2+-sensitive K+ channels from rat skeletal muscle‚ incorporated into planar bilayers (Kd = 90 nM in 50 mM KCl).cite journal |authors=Newitt RA, Houamed KM, Rehm H, Tempel BL.|title=Potassium channels and epilepsy: evidence that the epileptogenic toxin, dendrotoxin, binds to potassium channel proteins. |volume=4 |issue= |pages=263–73.|year=1991 |pmid=1815606 |journal=Epilepsy Research Supplement)
Dendrotoxin 3 , which inhibits acetylcholine M4 receptors .cite book |author=Rang, H. P. |title=Pharamacology |publisher=Churchill Livingstone |location=Edinburgh |year=2003 |pages= 139 |isbn=0-443-07145-4 |oclc= |doi=
Dendrotoxin 7 , commonly referred to as muscarinic toxin 7 (MT7) inhibits acetylcholine M1 receptors .
Dendrotoxin K , structually homologous to Kunitz-type proteinase inhibitors cite journal |authors=Berndt KD, Güntert P, Wüthrich K.|title=Nuclear magnetic resonance solution structure of dendrotoxin K from the venom of Dendroaspis polylepis polylepis. |volume=234 |issue=3 |pages= 735–50|month=5 December |year=1993 |pmid=8254670 |journal=Journal of Molecular Biology |doi=10.1006/jmbi.1993.1623 with activity as a selective blocker of voltage-gated potassium channels cite journal |authors=Harvey AL, Robertson B. |title=Dendrotoxins: structure-activity relationships and effects on potassium ion channels.|journal=Curr Med Chem. |year=2004 |volume=23|pages=3065–72. |pmid=15579000 |doi=10.2174/0929867043363820
Found in Kenya , Tanzania , Malawi , Mozambique , Zimbabwe , Swaziland , Namibia , western South Africa , Democratic Republic of the Congo , South Sudan , Sudan , Niger , Central African Republic , Chad
Dendroaspis jamesoni
(Traill, 1843)
2
Jameson's mamba
Found in Central Africa in Sudan , South Sudan , Gabon , Angola , Zambia , Republic of the Congo , Cameroon , Nigeria , Kenya , Uganda , Rwanda , Central African Republic , Benin , Ghana
Dendroaspis polylepis
Günther , 1864
0
Black mamba
Found in East Africa
Dendroaspis viridis
Hallowell , 1844)
0
Western green mamba
western Africa in southern Senegal , The Gambia
* Including the nominate subspecies. T Type species .
