Elapid Elapid, any poisonous snake belonging to the Elapidae, commonly called the cobra family, which includes some of the world's deadliest snakes. The family comprises cobras , mambas , kraits , coral snakes , sea snakes , and numerous Australian snakes. All elapids have a rapid-acting neurotoxic venom that causes paralysis.
Elapids are present in tropical and subtropical regions around the world.
They are the dominant snakes of Australia, where it is believed the family originated. Most land elapids dwell in the ground or burrow in loose soil. The sea snakes, which may have evolved on the Australian continent, are concentrated in coastal waters of Australasia and Southeast Asia. The 270 or so elapid species vary greatly in size, color, and markings, but their basic anatomy, shape, and arrangement of scales are much like those of colubrids, a typically harmless group of snakes. The underbelly of the snake has a single row of wide scales.