A Caspian cobra in a defensive posture.
Date 20 May 2011
Source http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=0000+0000+0511+1571
Author Omid Mozaffari
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Naja_oxiana_IMG_9612.JPG

The Caspian cobra (Naja oxiana), also called the Central Asian cobra, Oxus cobra or Russian cobra, a member of the family Elapidae found in Central Asia. Naja oxiana occurs in the Transcaspian region. It is found in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, north and east Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, the northern half of Pakistan, from the Kashmir region east to the state of Himachal Pradesh in India, and in southwestern Tajikistan.
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Family: Elapidae
Genus: Naja
Species: Naja oxiana (Eichwald, 1831)