India's cobras are one family — Sri Lanka's are their own line

The spectacled cobra is one of India's most familiar snakes, yet scientists have long argued over whether its regional forms are one species or several. A new peer-reviewed study in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, sampling Indian populations far more fully than before, finds mainland Indian cobras share close genetic ties, while Sri Lanka's cobras form a clearly distinct lineage. Sorting out who is related to whom is not bookkeeping: it shapes how each population is protected, and how future antivenom and conservation work is aimed.

SDG 15 · Life on land