Black mambas live across a wide part of sub-Saharan Africa, from Eritrea in the north to South Africa and Namibia in the south and west. In South Africa they live along the coastal regions from KwaZulu-Natal to Port St Johns, and they live on grassy savannas and rocky hills, in places with cover such as rocks and fallen trees. A black mamba keeps a home range but is not highly territorial. The size of the range varies with the habitat and with how much prey there is.

The average adult black mamba is about 2 to 2.5 metres long, which is about 6.6 to 8.2 feet, and it is the longest venomous snake in Africa. It has a coffin-shaped head and smooth scales, in 23 to 25 rows around the middle of the body. Its belly is lighter than its back, from cream to pale grey-green.

A black mamba is not black, and its body is gray or brown. The inside of its mouth is blue-black, and that is where its name comes from. The species name, polylepis, comes from Greek words that mean many scales. The genus name, Dendroaspis, comes from dendro-, which means tree.

How fast is a black mamba? Guinness World Records lists the black mamba as the fastest land snake, at 16 to 19 kilometres an hour (10 to 12 miles an hour) in short bursts over level ground, as of November 2026.

A black mamba moves by lateral undulation, which means it moves in an S shape. Black mambas prefer to travel on the ground, but they can also climb trees. A black mamba can lift its head and about a third of its body off the ground.

A black mamba is active from a few hours after sunrise until about an hour before dusk, and it returns to its refuge by late afternoon. It spends much of its time basking in the sun, often early in the morning. It rests in hollow trees and empty termite mounds. It also has a permanent lair that it comes back to.

Black mambas eat small animals such as rats and birds. They also eat dassies, which are also called hyraxes. By eating small rodents, black mambas help keep the number of rodents down.

Black mamba venom is neurotoxic, which means it acts on the nervous system, and in 2012 French researchers reported painkilling proteins from black mamba venom and named them mambalgins.

The mambas are the genus Dendroaspis: four species, the black mamba and three green mambas. Counting two kinds of Jameson's mamba separately makes five. A 2025 study found that the black mamba's closest relative is the eastern green mamba, and the black mamba belongs to the snake family Elapidae, which includes many other venomous snakes.

As of November 2026, black mambas are widespread and are not endangered. As of November 2026, the IUCN Red List rates the black mamba as Least Concern.

Black mambas mate in the warm months, in spring or summer, and they breed once a year, and a mother black mamba lays eggs, and the eggs take about 2 to 3 months to hatch. A hatching black mamba breaks through its egg with an egg tooth. Young black mambas get no help from their parents. After hatching they look after themselves, and the longest recorded life of a captive black mamba was 11 years, as of November 2026. Wild snakes could live longer.

Words to know

• polylepis: many scales
• undulation: wavy movement
• refuge: safe place
• neurotoxic: harming nerves
• mambalgins: painkilling proteins
• Elapidae: snake family