Naja is a genus of venomous elapid snakes known as cobras. Members of the genus Naja are the most widespread and the most widely recognized as "true" cobras. Various species occur in regions throughout Africa, Southwest Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Several other elapid species are also called "cobras", such as the king cobra and the rinkhals, but neither are true cobras. They are not true cobras in that they do not belong to the genus Naja, but instead each belong to monotypic genera Hemachatus and Ophiophagus.
