Poiionous Snak»i of the WorUI 



ELAPIOAE: Genus Sungarus Daudin, 1803. 

 Kriiits. 



Twflvf «|i«>clt>M lire n-cuKHlvn'tl ; nil liilmliil tlic rcKl"" 

 of soulliriisl Aslii, Orciisiiiiial liiiliviiliiiils of //. fiiaiiii- 

 lit.i utttihi li'iiKllis of 7 fiH'l. Most spoflt'S arc of iiiod- 

 iTiitf (4 to r> fiH't) length, hut uU are con side red cx- 

 troiiu'ly (laiiKt'rouit. 



Oiflnitiiin: llcail sniull. Mallciicil. sli^lilly <listiiiit: 



FiGiRE 70. — Head Scales of Krait (liiinf/ariin). Note 

 the small eye and the nasal in hioad contact with the 

 single preocular. Redrawn from Makl, 1931. 



from neck ; no distinct canthus. Body moderately 

 slender, cylindrical ; tail short. 



Eyes small ; pupils round or vertically suhelliptical. 



Head scales : The usual 9 on the crown ; frontal 

 broad. Laterally, nasal in broad contact with single 

 preocular. 



Body scales : Dorsals smooth, vertebral row enlarged 

 and hexagonal (strongly so except in /J. livid us), in 

 13-17 oblique rows at niidbody. Vei'trals 193-237 ; anal 

 plate entire ; subcaudals single or paired ( all paired 

 only in some .specimens of B. htingaroidcs), 23-56. 



Maxillary teeth : Two large tubular fangs with ex- 

 ternal grooves followed, after an interspace, by 1-4 small, 

 feebly-grooved teeth. 



Indian Krait, Bunganis caeruleus (Schneider). 



Identification: Body cylindrical with slight even 

 taper ; tail with pointed tip. All subcaudals undivided. 



Jet black to dark brown with a series of narrow white 

 or yellow crossbands that tend to he in pairs and often 

 fade out or break up on the anterior quarter of the 

 body ; upper lip white or yellow ; belly an immaculate 

 white (see plate VI, fig. 5). 



Average adult length 3 to 4 feet ; maximum .slightly 

 over .5 feet. 



DiMrihution: Essentially restricted to India and 

 parts of West Pakistan. Found in a variety of habitats 

 at low and moderate elevations preferring ratlier dry 

 open country. Often found near human habitations and 



fpfqiifMlly eiilei's poorly coiislnicli'd or ilcliiiililnled 

 l>iilhliM;;s. 



Urmitrlm: hwllan krails usually prowl on hot humid 

 nik'hls and are (iiill<' agile in llieir movements. When 

 .ilMniied they coll loosely wllh the body slightly lluttcned 

 and bead i-oncealed. They make jerky iiiovemenls iiikI 

 may clc\;ile I lie lail. 'I'licy do nol sIriUc Iml oricii make 

 a (piick snapping bile. Iiiiriiig the day they ar<' mlui'Ii 

 more lethargic. 



This is the most dangerous of the krails for it has 

 a venom of very high toxicity for man — tlu; lelhal dose 

 is estimated at about 4 mg. Bites are rare hut I lie 

 fatality rate in one series of •S.'i cases was 77 percent. 

 .\ntivenin is i)roduced by the Central Research Institute, 

 K.isaiili. India; and llic IlalTUini' Inslilnte. I'.oniliay. 

 Indl.'i. 



Ceylon Krait, //. ceyloniciis (( iiiiil Iter), 

 iiiiil 



Malayan Krait, //. canduh/s ( I/miiacus). 



DcKrription: These two krait s arc very similar to 

 the Indian krait in general ai>pearance, but have fewer 

 crossbands (15-2.") versus 35-55 for caeruleus). The 

 bands are wide in cintdidux. narrow and often l)roken in 



)'Cl/l(JllictlX. 



Many-banded Krait, B. muUicinctus Blyth. 

 Idoilifii-ulion: Very similar to the Indian krait but 

 the light cro.ssbands are not in pairs and the underside 

 may show dark mottling. It is a little smaller than 

 (■(irnilc)(K having an average length of 35 to 45 inches 

 and maximum of less than 5 feet. 



Figure 80. — Many-banded Krait, Bungarus muUicinctus. 

 From a painting. (See also plate V, figure 2). 



Distribntion: Burma through southern China to Hai- 

 nan and Taiwan. It frequents wooded or grassy places 

 near water and may be found in villages and suburban 

 areas. It is common in rice paddies. 



Remarks: Active on damp or rainy nights; inoffen- 

 sive in disposition as a rule. Toxicity of the venom 

 for animals is extremely high (LDj^ about 0.1 mg. per 

 kilo). Bites by this krait are seen regularly in Taiwan, 

 but the case fatality rates are less than half those re- 

 ported for India. Antivenin is produced by the Taiwan 

 Serum Vaccine Laboratory, Taipei. 



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