Banded krait
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| Species: | B. fasciatus
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| Bungarus fasciatus (Schneider, 1801)
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Bungarus fasciatus (or banded krait) is a species of krait found in India, Bangladesh, Southern China and Southeast Asia. It is the largest species of krait.
Description
B. fasciatus is easily identified by its alternate black and yellow bands, its triangular body cross section and the marked vertebral ridge consisting of enlarged vertebral shields along its body. The head is broad and depressed. The eyes are black. It has arrowhead-like yellow markings on its otherwise black head and has yellow lips, lores, chin and throat.[1]
The longest banded krait measured was 2.125 metres (83.7 in) long, but normally the maximum length encountered is 1.8 metres (71 in).[2]
The snake has an entire anal plate and single subcaudals. The tail is small and ends like a finger-tip, generally being one tenth the length of the snake.[3]
Distribution
The banded krait occurs in the whole of the Indo-Chinese subregion, the Malaysian peninsula and archipelago and Southern China.[2] The species is common in Assam and Bangladesh, but becomes progressively uncommon westwards in India.[1]
It has been recorded from eastwards from central India through through Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and southern China (including Hong Kong) to Malaysia and the main Indonesian islands of Borneo (Java and Sumatra), as well as Singapore. In India, it has been recorded from Northeast India, West Bengal, Orissa, parts of Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. It has been recorded in Bihar and Orissa and as far south and west as Hyderabad and Warangal,[4] Awadh, the Godavari and Mahanadi valleys.[2] In Maharashtra it has been recorded in Chandrapur & Gadchiroli districts.[5]
Habitat
Banded kraits may be seen in a variety of habitats, ranging from forests to agricultural lands. They inhabit termite mounds and rodent holes close to water, and often live near human settlement, especially villages, because of their supply of rodents and water. They prefer the open plains of the countryside.
The banded krait has been found in Myanmar up to an altitude of 5000 feet.[2]
Behaviour
Though venomous, banded kraits are shy, not typically seen, and are mainly nocturnal. When harassed, they will usually hide their heads under their coils, and do not generally attempt to bite, though at night they are much more active and widely considered to be more dangerous then.
During the day, they lie up in grass, pits or drains. The snakes are lethargic and sluggish even under provocation. They are most commonly seen in the rains.[1]
Food
The banded krait feeds mainly on other snakes, but is also known to eat fish, frogs, skinks and snake eggs. Among the snakes taken by banded kraits are:[1] -
- Chequered keelback Xenochrophis piscator.
- Buff-striped keelback Amphiesma stolatum.
- Rat snake or dhaman Ptyas mucosus.
- Indo-Chinese rat snake Ptyas korros.
- Cat snake Boiga trigonata.
The prey is swallowed head first, after it has been rendered inactive by the venom.[1]
Breeding habits
Little is known of its breeding habits. In Myanmar, a female has been dug out while incubating a clutch of 8 eggs, four of which hatched in May. Young have been recorded to measure 298 to 311mm on hatching. The snake is believed to become adult in the third year of its life, at an approximate length of 914mm.[6]
Venom
B. fasciatus venom mainly contains a neurotoxin with the LD50 2.4 mg/kg.[7]. Another research gives a value of 3.6 mg/kg.[8] The venom can cause respiratory failure. There are few authenticated records of human beings having been bitten.
A polyvalent antivenin (antivenom) developed by Alan Van Dyke is available in India.
Other information
In literature
- Venom from a king cobra saved Baby Saleem from typhoid fever in Salman Rushdie's book, "Midnight's Children". It was supplied by Doctor Schaapsteker, who was obsessed with finding an antivenin for the bite of the banded krait.
- Also, Ronald Rosenblatt of the on-line "Fortean Explorer" has suggested that the "swamp adder" mentioned in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" might actually be a semifictionalized depiction of the banded krait.
Common names
- Hindi - raaj saamp.[3]
- Bengali - sankni, shankhamooti shaanp.[1]
- Oriya - rana.[1]
- Telugu - bungarum paamu meaning the golden snake. The scientific name of the genus is also derived from the Telugu word bungarum meaning gold, this being an allusion to the yellow rings around its body.[1]
- Thai - ngu sam liam, meaning the triangular snake.[2]
- Marathi - patteri manyar.
- Malayalam-vellikkattan.
- Tamil - kattu viriyan, yennai viriyan, yettadi viriyan.
Gallery
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Banded krait captured in Binnaguri, North Bengal, India
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h Daniels, J.C. (2002), Book of Indian Reptiles and Amphibians pages 134-135.
- ^ a b c d e Smith, Malcolm A. Fauna of British India...Vol III - Serpentes, pages 411 to 413
- ^ a b Boulenger, George A., (1890), The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma, Reptilia and Batrachia. page 388.
- ^ Srinivasulu, C (26 June 2009). "Rediscovery of the Banded Krait Bungarus fasciatus (Schneider 1801) (Serpentes: Elapidae) from Warangal District, Andhra Pradesh, India". Journal of Threatened Taxa. 1 (6): 353–354. Retrieved 2009-07-19.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Khaire, NeelimKumar (2008) [2006]. Snakes of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka. Pune: Indian Herpetological Society. p. 40.
- ^ Evans, G.H. (1906):Breeding of the banded krait (Bungarus fasciatus) in Burma. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 16:519-520 as mentioned in Daniels, J.C. (2002), Book of Indian Reptiles and Amphibians References, ser no 28, pg 219.
- ^ Venom and toxin research group. Snake of medical importance: Banded krait. Singapore. ISBN 9971622173.
- ^ "LD50 menu".
- Boulenger, George A., (1890), The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma, Reptilia and Batrachia. Taylor and Francis, London.
- Daniels, J.C. (2002), Book of Indian Reptiles and Amphibians. BNHS. Oxford University Press. Mumbai.
- Smith, Malcolm A. (1943), The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma including the whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region, Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol I - Loricata and Testudines, Vol II-Sauria, Vol III-Serpentes. Taylor and Francis, London.
- Whitaker, Romulus. (2002), Common Indian Snakes: A Field Guide. Macmillan India Limited, ISBN 0-333-90198-3.
External links
- Species Bungarus fasciatus at The Reptile Database
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System - Bungarus fasciatus