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Snakes

Black mamba

Guinness says 9.9 mph to 11.8 mph (16–19 km/h) for the black mamba in short bursts. The figure is 9.9 mph (16 km/h), the bottom of that range. A strike speed is not a separate figure.

A black mamba can travel 9.9 mph (16 km/h), an official figure.

Also known as Dendroaspis polylepis
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Top speed

Published as 16 km/hPublished as 16 km/hPublished as 16 km/h

Guinness fastest land snake: the black mamba can reach 10 to 12 mph (16 to 19 km/h) in short bursts over level ground. The figure is 9.9 mph (16 km/h), the bottom of that published range. 11.8 mph (19 km/h) is not a separate figure as a separate peak. This is travel, not strike speed.

OfficialGuinness World Records (opens source in a new tab)

In context

  • 43% of Usain Bolt's 100 m world-record paceSourced · Usain Bolt, 100 m in 9.58 s. World Athletics, Berlin 2009. Averaged over the race
  • 15% of a cheetah's timed top speedSourced · Cheetah, 29 m/s. Sharp 1997, mean of three timed runs over 201.2 m
  • A football field in 21 sConstant · American football field, 100 yd (91.44 m)

Worked out from the sourced figure above, which stays the ranked number.

Quick answers

People also ask

How fast can a black mamba travel?

A black mamba can travel 9.9 mph (16 km/h), an official figure.

Is that figure claimed or verified?

Black mamba is labeled Official. Ratified by a governing body such as the FIA, World Athletics or Guinness World Records.

What is the source?

The figure cites Guinness World Records, “Fastest land snake.”

Where does Black mamba rank?

Black mamba is 1st of 7 on Fastest Snakes.

Mechanism

Why it's so fast

Guinness says about 10 to 12 mph (16 to 19 km/h) for the black mamba, Dendroaspis polylepis, in short bursts. The figure is 9.9 mph (16 km/h), the bottom of that range. A strike speed is not a separate figure.

Species
Dendroaspis polylepis
Ranked
9.9 mph (16 km/h)
Range
9.9 mph to 11.8 mph (16–19 km/h)

  1. The floor of the range

    A range of 9.9 mph to 11.8 mph (16 to 19 km/h) is not one measurement. The page uses 9.9 mph (16 km/h) so the page does not pick the top of a Guinness range. The locomotion is a short burst of lateral undulation. A strike, the head moving at prey, is a different motion.

  2. Faster than the filmed snakes

    Tingle's table of sidewinders and adders is in the single digits of km/h, from named trials. The mamba's 9.9 mph (16 km/h) is a Guinness range, a different kind of source. It is not averaged with the rosy boa's 0.249 mph (0.4 km/h).

Provenance

Every measurement

Claimed, measured and official figures side by side, each with its source. The ranked figure is marked.

  1. 16km/h9.9mph4.4m/s8.6knRanked figure

    Guinness fastest land snake: the black mamba can reach 10 to 12 mph (16 to 19 km/h) in short bursts over level ground. The figure is 9.9 mph (16 km/h), the bottom of that published range. 11.8 mph (19 km/h) is not a separate figure as a separate peak. This is travel, not strike speed.

    Wikipedia says up to 9.9 mph (16 km/h) for short distances. Animal Diversity Web says up to 12.4 mph (20 km/h). Those ceilings are not a separate record.

    Official
    Guinness World Records (opens source in a new tab)

Reference

Specs

Species
Dendroaspis polylepis
Speed
9.9 mph (16 km/h)
Record
9.9 mph to 11.8 mph (16–19 km/h)

Context

Background

Guinness calls the black mamba the fastest land snake and says a range, 9.9 mph to 11.8 mph (16 to 19 km/h) in short bursts over level ground. The figure is 9.9 mph (16 km/h), the bottom of that range. The top of the range is not a separate figure as if it were a measured peak.

Wikipedia, citing field guides, says the snake can move at up to 9.9 mph (16 km/h) for short distances and cannot move more quickly than 12.4 mph (20 km/h). Animal Diversity Web says up to 12.4 mph (20 km/h). Those sentences are the ceiling, not the figure. A strike speed was not in the sources that published a travel figure, so no strike is given.

Head to head

Compare Black mamba

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