> Which species of snake is the fastest in the world, traveling on land at morethan 19 km per hour, or 12 miles per hour?And the answer is: The Black Mamba(Image: © Andre Coetzer [http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-546595p1.html] |Shutterstock)Native to parts of Africa, and extremely venomous, the black mambacan travel faster than most humans can run. Thankfully, their speed is normallyused to outrun predators, rather than chase prey. Yet despite their lethalcapabilities, these serpents tend to be shy and nervous, which makes their speeda perfect defense mechanism from pesky mongoose, jackals, or other predators. Interestingly, these fierce serpents are named not for the color of theirscales, which are brown, but for the blue-black color on the inside of theirmouth. When confronted or challenged, the black mamba will flatten their headand show off their black mouth and fangs before attacking. It’s no wonder theyare commonly referred to as the great white sharks of the snake world!Check out this video of two black mambas in action. This behavior is likelywhat’s known as "plaiting combat," where the two male snakes twist and turnabout one another until the other falls. It is usually done in order to secure afemale mate. Watch Two of World’s Deadliest Snakes Fight on a Golf CourseIn a rare sighting,two male black mamba snakes entwine in vicious “plaiting combat”—likelybattlingover a female.Heather Brady[https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2017/05/black-mamba-snake-deadly-venom-golf-course-south-africa-video]Did you know? The late Kobe Bryant adopted the nickname "Black Mamba" in an attempt toseparate professional from personal life. In a 2015 interview[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocimURI808Q] he states: "When I step on thatcourt, I become that. I am that killer snake. I'm stone cold, man."