Bungarus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 Banded krait, Bungarus fasciatus
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Bungarus is a genus of venomous elapid snakes found in India and South-East Asia. Commonly referred to as kraits, there are 12 species and 5 subspecies.
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[edit] Distribution
Kraits are found in the Indian subcontinent (including Sri Lanka and eastern Pakistan) and southeast Asia (including Indonesia and Borneo).[1]
[edit] Description
Kraits usually range between 1 to 1.5 m in length, although specimens as large as 2 m have been observed. The Banded Krait (B. fasciatus) may grow as large as 2.5 m. Most species of krait are covered in smooth glossy scales that are arranged in bold striped patterns of alternating black and light-colored areas. This gives the snake camouflage in its habitat of grassland and scrub jungle. The scales along the dorsal ridge of the back are hexagonal. The head is slender and the eyes have round pupils. Kraits have a pronounced dorso-lateral flattening, and are triangular in cross-section. The tail tapers to a thin point.
[edit] Reproduction
Kraits are oviparous and the female will lay a clutch of 6 to 12 eggs in piles of leaf litter and stay with them until they hatch.
[edit] Diet & Behavior
Kraits are ophiophagous, preying primarily upon other snakes (including venomous varieties) and are cannibalistic, feeding on other kraits. They will also eat small lizards.[2]
All kraits are nocturnal. The snake is more docile during the daylight hours, becoming more aggressive during the night. However, they are rather timid and will often hide their heads within their coiled bodies for protection. When in this posture, they will sometimes whip their tail around as a type of distraction.[3]
[edit] Venom
Bungarus species have neurotoxic venom many times more potent than cobra venom. A bite from a krait is very serious and causes respiratory failure in the victim. Before effective antivenom was developed, there was a 75 percent mortality rate among victims.[4] The bite has been described as extremely painful; fortunately, kraits are not usually aggressive. In 2001, Dr. Joe Slowinski was bitten by a juvenile krait (B. multicinctus) while doing field research on them in Myanmar and, unable to reach medical assistance, died.
[edit] Species
| Species | Authority | Subsp.* | Common name | Geographic range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| B. andamanensis | Biswas & Sanyal, 1978 | 0 | South Andaman krait | India (Andaman Island) |
| B. bungaroides | Cantor, 1839 | 0 | Northeastern hill krait | Myanmar, India (Assam, Cachar, Sikkim), Nepal, Vietnam |
| B. caeruleus | Schneider, 1801 | 0 | Indian krait | Afghanistan, Pakistan, India (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal |
| B. candidus | Linnaeus, 1758 | 0 | Blue krait | Cambodia, Indonesia (Java, Sumatra, Bali, Sulawesi), Malaysia (Malaya), Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam |
| B. ceylonicus | Günther, 1864 | 1 | Ceylon krait | Sri Lanka |
| B. fasciatus | Schneider, 1801 | 0 | Banded krait | Bangladesh, Brunei, Myanmar, Cambodia, south China (incl. Hong Kong, Hainan), north-east India, Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Borneo), Laos, Macau; Malaysia (Malaya and East Malaysia), Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam |
| B. flaviceps | Reinhardt, 1843 | 1 | Red-headed krait | South Thailand, South Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysian Peninsula, Pulau Tioman, Indonesia (Bangka, Sumatra, Java, Billiton, Borneo) |
| B. lividus | Cantor, 1839 | 0 | Lesser black krait | India, Bangladesh, Nepal |
| B. magnimaculatus | Wall and Evans, 1901 | 0 | Burmese krait | Myanmar |
| B. multicinctus | Blyth, 1861 | 1 | Many-banded Krait | Taiwan, south China (incl. Hong Kong, Hainan), Myanmar, Laos, north Vietnam, Thailand |
| B. niger | Wall, 1908 | 0 | Black krait | India (Assam, Sikkim), Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan |
| B. sindanus | Boulenger, 1897 | 2 | Sind krait | South-east Pakistan, India |
*) Not including the nominate subspecies (typical form).
[edit] Kraits in fiction
Kraits have reputations as deadly snakes and has figured in fiction as such. Rudyard Kipling's short story "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" features a krait as an antagonist to the title character (a mongoose), and Roald Dahl also uses the krait as a device in his short story "Poison." The krait also appears in Frederick Forsyth's short story "There Are No Snakes in Ireland" (included in his collection No Comebacks).
It has also been argued that the deadly snake in the Sherlock Holmes story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" may have been a krait, although it is described in that work as an "Indian swamp adder." (The Russell's Viper has also been considered as a possible culprit.)
In a slightly more oblique reference, the motion picture Snakes on a Plane features a villainous snake smuggler named "Kraitler."
[edit] References
- ^ SurvivalIQ: Krait
- ^ Richard Mastenbroek's Elapid Pages: Kraits (Bungarus ssp.)
- ^ Living in Indonesia:Banded Krait
- ^ Immediate First Aid for bites by for bites by Kraits (Bungarus species)
- EMBL Reptile Database: Family Elapidae
- Genus Bungarus at the EMBL Reptile Database
- Bungarus (TSN 700207). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 6 May 2006.
