Cobrat

Cobrats are large desert-dwelling snakes that were first seen in Super Mario Bros. 2, where they would unexpectedly spring from sand or vases. Their name is a portmanteau of "brat" and "cobra", which a kind of snake famous for being charmed out of vases or baskets through the use of flute-like musical instruments. The Super Mario Bros. 2 boss Tryclyde resembles a three-headed Cobrat.

''Super Mario Bros. 2
In Super Mario Bros. 2, Cobrats jump out of the sand or vases to attack, and 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 avoided easily and only pose a threat when in large numbers.

Super Mario Bros. 3 ports
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 (pictured at left).

''The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
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.

''Nintendo Comics System
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.

''Mario Pinball Land
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. In this game they are green instead of red.

Trivia

 * The manual of Super Mario Bros. 2 states that Cobrats often appear in the dreams of Toad.
 * 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.