This article is about the snake. For other uses, see King Cobra ( disambiguation ) not to be confused with amerind cobra
Reading: King cobra
The king cobra ( Ophiophagus hannah ) is a deadly hydra species of elapids autochthonal to jungles in Southern and Southeast Asia. The sole member of the genus Ophiophagus, it is distinct from early cobras, most perceptibly by its size and neck patterns. The king cobra is the worldly concern ‘s longest poisonous snake, with an average distance of 3.18 to 4 m ( 10.4 to 13.1 foot ), [ 2 ] reaching a utmost of 5.85 megabyte ( 19.2 foot ). [ 3 ] Its bark color varies across the habitats, from total darkness with white stripes to unbroken brown grey. It preys chiefly on other snakes, including its own species. Unlike other snakes, it rarely hunts non-reptile vertebrates, such as rodents and lizards. Like most cobras and mamba, the king cobra ‘s terror display includes spreading its neck-flap, raising its heading erect, puff, and hissing. Despite its awful repute, the king cobra avoids confrontation with humans whenever potential. When provoked, however, it is adequate to of striking a target at long crop and well above the grate. Rather than bite and retreat, it may sustain its pungency and inject a large quantity of malice, which is a medical hand brake. [ 4 ] [ 5 ] Regarded as the national reptile of India, [ 6 ] this species has an eminent position in mythology and folk traditions of India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] Threatened by habitat end, the king cobra has been listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 2010. [ 1 ]
taxonomy
The king cobra is besides referred to by the common name “ hamadryad “, specially in older literature. Hamadryas hannah was the scientific name used by danish naturalist Theodore Edward Cantor in 1836 who described four king cobra specimens, three captured in the Sundarbans and one in the vicinity of Kolkata. [ 9 ] Naja bungarus was proposed by Hermann Schlegel in 1837 who described a king cobra zoological specimen from Java. [ 10 ] In 1838, Cantor proposed the identify Hamadryas ophiophagus for the king cobra and explained that it has alveolar consonant features intermediate between the genus Naja and Bungarus. [ 11 ] Naia vittata proposed by Walter Elliot in 1840 was a king cobra caught offshore near Chennai that was floating in a basket. [ 12 ] Hamadryas elaps proposed by Albert Günther in 1858 were king cobra specimens from the Philippines and Borneo. Günther considered both N. bungarus and N. vittata a variety of H. elaps. [ 13 ] The genus Ophiophagus was proposed by Günther in 1864. [ 14 ] The name is derived from its leaning to eat snakes. [ 15 ] Naja ingens proposed by Alexander Willem Michiel van Hasselt in 1882 was a king cobra captured near Tebing Tinggi in northern Sumatra. [ 16 ] Ophiophagus hannah was accepted as the valid name for the king cobra by Charles Mitchill Bogert in 1945 who argued that it differs importantly from Naja species. [ 17 ] A genic psychoanalysis using cytochrome bel, [ 18 ] and a multigene analysis showed that the king cobra was an early outgrowth of a genetic linage giving upgrade to the mamba, rather than the Naja cobra. [ 19 ] A phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid showed that specimens from Surattani and Nakhon Si Thammarat Provinces in southerly Thailand class a deeply divergent clade from those from northerly Thailand, which grouped with specimens from Myanmar and Guangdong in southern China. [ 20 ]
description
Scales of the king cobra
A child king cobra showing its chevron convention on the back The baron cobra ‘s skin is olive green with black and white bands on the trunk that converge to the headway. The head is covered by 15 blue coloured and black edged shields. The gag is rounded, and the tongue black. It has two fangs and 3–5 maxillar teeth in the upper jaw, and two rows of teeth in the lower jaw. The nostrils are between two shields. The large eyes have a gold iris and round pupils. Its hood is ellipse shape and covered with olive green smooth scales and two blacken spots between the two lowest scales. Its cylindrical tail is yellow green above and marked with black. [ 9 ] It has a pair of big occipital scales on circus tent of the head, 17 to 19 rows of smooth devious scales on the neck, and 15 rows on the body. Juveniles are black with chevron shaped flannel, chicken or fan bars that point towards the oral sex. [ 21 ] Adult baron cobras are 3.18 to 4 meter ( 10.4 to 13.1 ft ) retentive. The longest known individual measured 5.85 megabyte ( 19.2 foot ). [ 3 ] Ventral scales are uniformly ellipse shaped. Dorsal scales are placed in an oblique musical arrangement. [ 22 ] The king cobra is sexually dimorphic, with males being larger and pale in particular during the breed season. Males captured in Kerala measured up to 3.75 megabyte ( 12.3 foot ) and weighed up to 10 kg ( 22 pound ). Females captured had a maximum duration of 2.75 thousand ( 9 foot 0 in ) and a system of weights of 5 kg ( 11 pound ). [ 23 ] The largest acknowledge king cobra was 5.59 molarity ( 18 foot 4 in ) farseeing and captured in Thailand. [ 24 ] It differs from early cobra species by size and hood. It is larger, has a narrower and longer stripe on the neck. [ 4 ] The head of a mature snake can be quite massive and bulky in appearance. Like most extant snakes, due to macrostomy, it can expand its chew the fat to swallow large raven items. It has proteroglyph dentition, meaning it has two short, cook fangs in the front of the mouthpiece, which channel malice into the raven. These are behind the usual “ nine-plate ” placement typical of colubrids and elapids, and are alone to the king cobra. [ citation needed ] The king cobra typically weighs about 6 kg ( 13 pound ). A captive matchless at the London Zoo grew to 5.71 molarity ( 18.7 foot ) before being euthanised upon the outbreak of World War II. The heaviest wild specimen was caught at Royal Island Club in Singapore in 1951, which weighed 12 kilogram ( 26 pound ) and measured 4.8 thousand ( 16 foot ). An individual prevent at Bronx Zoo weighed 12.7 kilogram ( 28 pound ) and was 4.4 m ( 14 foot ) long in 1972. [ citation needed ]
distribution and habitat
The king cobra has a wide distribution in South and Southeast Asia. It occurs up to an aggrandizement of 2,000 m ( 6,600 foot ) from the Terai in India and southern Nepal to the Brahmaputra River basin in Bhutan and northeast India, Bangladesh and to Myanmar, southerly China, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. [ 1 ] In northern India, it has been recorded in Garhwal and Kumaon, and in the Shivalik and terai regions of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. [ 25 ] [ 26 ] [ 27 ] In northeast India, the baron cobra has been recorded in northern West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. [ 28 ] [ 29 ] In the Eastern Ghats, it occurs from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to coastal Odisha, and besides in Bihar and southerly West Bengal, specially the Sunderbans. [ 9 ] [ 28 ] [ 30 ] In the western Ghats, it was recorded in Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra, and besides in Gujarat. [ 28 ] [ 31 ] [ 23 ] [ 32 ] It besides occurs on Baratang Island in the Great Andaman chain. [ 33 ]
Behaviour and ecology
captive king cobras with their hoods extended Like other snakes, a king cobra receives chemical information via its fork tongue, which picks up perfume particles and transfers them to a sensory receptor ( Jacobson ‘s electric organ ) located in the roof of its mouth. [ 2 ] When it detects the olfactory property of raven, it flicks its tongue to gauge the prey ‘s localization, with the counterpart fork of the tongue acting in stereo. It senses earth-borne vibration and detects moving prey about 100 m ( 330 foot ) away. [ citation needed ] Following envenomation, it swallows its prey unharmed. Because of its flexible jaw it can swallow prey much larger than its head. It is considered diurnal because it hunts during the sidereal day, but has besides been seen at night, rarely. [ 2 ]
diet
King cobra in Pune, India The king cobra ‘s diet consists primarily of other snakes and lizards, including indian cobra, banded krait, rat snake, pythons, k whip snake, keelback, banded wolf snake and Blyth ‘s reticulate snake. [ 34 ] It besides hunts Malabar pit viper and hump-nosed pit viper by following their smell trails. [ 35 ] In Singapore, one was observed swallowing a cloud monitor. [ 36 ] When food is barely, it besides feeds on early small vertebrates, such as birds, and lizards. In some cases, the cobra constricts its prey using its muscular body, though this is rare. After a big meal, it lives for many months without another one because of its behind metabolic pace. [ 2 ] [ 37 ]
defensive structure
A king cobra in its defensive model ( mounted specimen at the Royal Ontario Museum
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The king cobra is not considered aggressive. [ 38 ] It normally avoids humans and slinks off when disturbed, but is known to aggressively defend incubating eggs and attack intruders quickly. When alarmed, it raises the front man depart of its body, extends the hood, shows the fangs and hisses obstreperously. [ 34 ] [ 39 ] Wild king cobras encountered in Singapore appeared to be equable, but reared up and struck in self refutation when cornered. [ 40 ] The king cobra possesses a potent neurotoxic malice and end can occur in equally little as 30 minutes after being bitten. [ 41 ] Most victims bitten by king cobras are snake charmers. [ 41 ] Hospital records in Thailand indicate that bites from king cobras are very uncommon. [ 42 ] [ 43 ] The king cobra can be easily irritated by close approaching objects or sudden movements. When raising its body, the king cobra can silent move forward to strike with a hanker distance, and people may misjudge the condom partition. It can deliver multiple bites in a one fire. [ 5 ]
Growling hiss
The hiss of the king cobra is a much lower pitch than many other snakes and many people thus liken its call to a “ grumble ” quite than a hiss. While the hisses of most snakes are of a broad-frequency cross ranging from roughly 3,000 to 13,000 Hz with a dominant frequency near 7,500 Hz, king cobra growls consist entirely of frequencies below 2,500 Hz, with a dominant frequency near 600 Hz, a much lower-sounding frequency closer to that of a homo voice. relative anatomical reference morphometric analysis has led to a discovery of tracheal diverticulum that function as low-frequency resonating chambers in king cobra and its prey, the rat snake, both of which can make similar growl. [ 44 ]
replica
A captive juvenile king cobra in its defensive pose The female is gravid for 50 to 59 days. [ 3 ] The king cobra is the entirely snake that builds a nest using dry leaf bedding material, starting from late March to late May. [ 45 ] Most nests are located at the base of trees, are up to 55 centimeter ( 22 in ) senior high school in the center and 140 centimeter ( 55 in ) across-the-board at the free-base. They consist of several layers and have by and large one chamber, into which the female lays eggs. [ 46 ] Clutch size ranges from 7 to 43 eggs, with 6 to 38 eggs hatching after incubation periods of 66 to 105 days. temperature inside nests is not regular but varies depending on aggrandizement from 13.5 to 37.4 °C ( 56.3 to 99.3 °F ). Females stay by their nests between two and 77 days. Hatchlings are between 37.5 and 58.5 centimeter ( 14.8 and 23.0 in ) long and weigh 9 to 38 g ( 0.32 to 1.34 oz ). [ 45 ] The venom of hatchlings is a potent as that of the adults. They may be brilliantly marked, but these colours often fade as they mature. They are alert and anxious, being highly aggressive if disturbed. [ 4 ] The average life of a crazy baron cobra is about 20 years. [ citation needed ]
malice
King cobra skull, lateral view, showing fangs The king cobra ‘s malice consists of cytotoxins and neurotoxins, including alpha-neurotoxins and three-finger toxins. [ 47 ] [ 48 ] [ 49 ] [ 50 ] early components have cardiotoxic effects. [ 51 ] Its malice is produced in anatomic glands named postorbital venom glands. [ 52 ] It can deliver up to 420 mg malice in dry weight ( 400–600 magnesium overall ) per morsel, [ 53 ] with a LD50 perniciousness in mouse of 1.28 mg/kg through intravenous injection, [ 54 ] 1.5 to 1.7 mg/kg through hypodermic injection, [ 55 ] and 1.644 mg/kg through intraperitoneal injection. [ 53 ] [ 56 ] [ 57 ] For research purposes, up to 1 g of venom was obtained through milk. [ 58 ] The toxins affect the victim ‘s cardinal nervous organization, resulting in dangerous pain, blurred imagination, dizziness, sleepiness, and finally paralysis. If the envenomation is serious, it progresses to cardiovascular collapse, and the victim falls into a coma. Death soon follows due to respiratory failure. The affected person can die within 30 minutes of envenomation. [ 41 ] Ohanin, a protein part of the malice, causes hypolocomotion and hyperalgesia in mammals. [ 59 ] Large quantities of antivenom may be needed to reverse the progress of symptoms. [ 5 ] Polyvalent antivenom of equine origin is produced by Haffkine Institute and King Institute of Preventive Medicine and Research in India. [ 60 ] A polyvalent antivenom produced by the Thai Red Cross Society can effectively neutralize malice of the king cobra. [ 61 ] In Thailand, a concoction of turmeric root has been clinically shown to create a firm resilience against the malice of the king cobra when ingested. [ 62 ] [ 63 ] Proper and contiguous treatments are critical to avoid death. successful precedents include a client who recovered and was discharged in 10 days after being treated by accurate antivenom and inpatient care. [ 41 ] not all king cobra bites result in envenomation, but they are often considered for aesculapian importance. [ 64 ] clinical deathrate rates vary between unlike regions and depend on many factors, such as local anesthetic checkup advancement. A Thai survey reports 10 deaths out of 35 patients received for king cobra bites, whose fatality rate posed ( 28 % ) is higher than those of other cobra species. [ 65 ] The Department of Clinical Toxinology of the University of Adelaide gives this snake a general untreated fatality rate of 50–60 %, implying that the snake has about a half chance to deliver bites involving nonfatal quantities of venom. [ 66 ]
Threats
In Southeast Asia, the king cobra is threatened first by habitat destruction owing to deforestation and expansion of agricultural domain. It is besides threatened by poaching for its meat, skin and for use in traditional taiwanese music. [ 1 ]
conservation
The king cobra is listed in CITES Appendix II. It is protected in China and Vietnam. [ 1 ] In India, it is placed under Schedule II of Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Killing a king cobra is punished with imprisonment of up to six years. [ 67 ]
cultural significance
A ritual in Myanmar involves a baron cobra and a female snake charmer. The smoothie is a priestess who is normally tattooed with three pictograms and kisses the snake on the top of its head at the end of the ritual. [ 8 ] [ 37 ] Members of the Pakokku kin tattoo themselves with ink assorted with cobra venom on their upper berth bodies in a hebdomadally inoculation that potentially might protect them from the snake, though no scientific testify supports this. [ 37 ] [ 68 ]