venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra de capelo or cobra-de-capelo, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake".any member of the genus Naja, also known as typical cobras (with the characteristic ability to raise the front quarters of their bodies off the ground and flatten their necks in a threatening gesture), a group of venomous elapids found in Africa and Asia 
spitting cobras, a subset of Naja species with the ability to eject venom from its fangs in self-defense 
any member of the genus Boulengerina, a.k.a. water cobras, a group of venomous elapids found in Africa Hemachatus haemachatus, a.k.a. the ringhals or ring-necked spitting cobra, a venomous elapid species found in Africa 
Micrurus fulvius, a.k.a. the American cobra or eastern coral snake, a venomous elapid species found in the southeastern United States 
Hydrodynastes gigas, a.k.a. the false water cobra, a mildly venomous colubrid species found in South America 
a taxonomic synonym for the genus Bitis, a.k.a. puff adders, a group of venomous vipers found in Africa and in the south of the Arabian Peninsula 
