THE ANIMAL FILES

Black mamba

Dendroaspis polylepis

The black in its name is inside the mouth.

Black mambas have slender bodies that are often olive, brownish or grey; their name refers to the dark mouth. They move on the ground and in trees, using burrows, rock crevices and tree cracks as shelters.[1]

Follow the evidence ↓
Black mamba
Image: Bill Love/Blue Chameleon Ventures · Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
Name origin
The dark lining inside the mouth[1]
Outer colour
Often olive, brownish or grey rather than black[1]
Food
Mainly small vertebrates[1]

A mouth name, not a body paint chart

Adults may be olive, khaki, brownish or gunmetal grey, while juveniles can be lighter. The dark interior of the mouth explains the common name.[1]

Shelters connect ground and trees

Black mambas use terrestrial and arboreal settings. Recorded shelters include abandoned burrows, termite mounds, rock crevices and cracks in trees.[1]

Following the meal rather than the legend

Small mammals and birds form much of the documented diet. The snake often releases prey after biting and later swallows it, rather than holding every meal continuously.[1]

A COMMON MIX-UP

Does a black mamba need to have a black body?

No. The common name refers to the dark mouth lining. Outer body colours include olive, brownish and grey, so the name is not a whole-body colour rule.[1]

TRY A LITTLE REASONING

Why record where a snake rests as well as where it moves?

Reveal the explanation

Repeated use of shelters can reveal how an animal organises its habitat. Burrows, tree cracks and rock crevices provide context for movements that would otherwise look like disconnected sightings across the landscape.[1]

Sources & editorial notes

Adapted and translated from the cited Wikipedia revisions, with source-linked reasoning. Image credit and licence are listed separately above.

Adapted and translated from Wikipedia contributors; exact revisions are linked below. CC BY-SA 4.0

  1. Wikipedia contributors — Black mamba (fixed revision; adapted and translated)
  2. NCBI Taxonomy — Dendroaspis polylepis (identity and classification)

Last fact check:

One discovery leads to another

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