Snakes in Egypt
Snakes have held a special significance in Egyptian culture since ancient times, symbolizing divinity and royalty. Apep, the Egyptian deity, an embodiment of chaos, was represented as a giant snake. The Egyptian cobra, one of Egypt’s deadliest snakes, was an integral part of the ancient culture, worn as an emblem on the headdresses of kings.
The fact that snakes existed in Egypt several years ago was even validated recently when researchers came across fossils of the Egyptian cobra’s ancestors as old as 37 million years.
| Groups | Venomous | Non-venomous |
|---|---|---|
| Krait | Banded Sea Krait | – |
Cerastes | Saharan Horned Viper Sahara Sand Viper | – |
Echis | Egyptian Saw-scaled Viper Indian Saw-scaled Viper | – |
| Naja | Egyptian Cobra Red-spitting Cobra | – |
| Walterinnesia | Desert Cobra | – |
| Pseudocerastes | Field’s Horned Viper | – |
| Dasypeltis | – | Central African Egg-eating Snake |
| Eryx | – | Egyptian Sand Boa Kenyan Sand Boa |
