Both groups can be distinguished by the anatomy of the basisphenoid, which is distinctly narrower before the basipterygoid crest, has shorter vidian canals and anterior orifices on the ventral rather than the dorsal surface.

[2] Ongoing climate change however likely lead to the extinction of cobras in central Europe by the latest Miocene, with the specimens from Kohfidisch being the last known remains of the species from the region.

Cobras did however manage to survive in other regions of Europe and the last known records of Naja romani were found in Solnechnodolsk in the northern Caucasus in strata dating to the late Turolian (MN 13).

Notably however, despite being known to preserve a rich and diverse reptile fauna, only a single bone of Naja romani is known from the region, indicating that the species was already declining in this part of the world as well.

Younger remains of cobras, which are known from the Pliocene of Spain, have been shown to be unrelated to Naja romani and instead are thought to be members of the African-lineage that likely entered Europe following the drying of the Mediterranean.

[3] It has been suggested by Syromyatnikova, Tesakov & Titov that Naja romani grew larger as the Miocene progressed, with specimens from Petersbuch and Vieux-Collonges being generally smaller than younger fossils, which reached their greatest size with those found in Kohfidisch and Solnechnodolski.

Pokrant and his team argue that this form of mimicry could have developed during the Neogene when Natrix longivertebrata, thought to be the direct ancestor to both modern grass snake species, coexisted in multiple localities with Naja romani and may have imitated the cobra to scare off predators.

As this form of mimicry is only effective when the predator is aware of the model species, rearing behavior would have become increasingly ineffective following the extinction of cobras in Central Europe.