Cobrat

Cobrats are large snakes (or most likely cobras) that jump out of the sand or vases in Super Mario Bros. 2. Most of them can spit out black projectiles similar to Snifits. They appear in the desert levels and are easy to defeat if in a line; the player can throw one and cause a domino effect. They can be passed by easily and only pose a threat when in large numbers.

Cobrats appeared several times on The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!, where their size varied from minuscule to exceptionally large. The role of Cobrats in the show varied, as they would occasionally appear as enemy monsters and on other occasions would be used as handheld weaponry, capable of firing small, exploding black orbs. They have even been used as a horse in the episode Star Koopa.

In the Nintendo Comics System story "Just Deserts," two Cobrats, which are capable of speech, appear as inhabitants of Bowser's desert fortress; the story itself makes it ambiguous as to whether or not these two Cobrats are actually affiliated with Bowser or simply live in his pyramid fortress.

In the Super Mario Bros. 3 remake in Super Mario All-Stars and Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3, the the Mushroom King who rules Grass Land is changed into a Cobrat by Larry Koopa.

After a very long absence, they reappeared in Mario Pinball Land on the world Shifting Sands. They were inside the pyramid and were a common enemy. Oddly enough, they are green instead of red.

Trivia

 * The manual of Super Mario Bros. 2 states that Cobrats often appear in the dreams of Toad.
 * Cobrat is the portmanteau of 'cobra' and 'brat'.
 * Cobrats look similar to Tryclyde (as he appears in official artwork), but only possess one head.
 * In The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, a person named Vasu owns two snakes that look similar to a Cobrat. One of the snakes even matches the Cobrat's color scheme.