''Ophiophagus bungarus'', the Sunda king cobra, is a species of

king cobra The king cobra (''Ophiophagus hannah'') is a species complex of snakes Endemism, endemic to Asia. With an average of and a record length of , it is the world's longest venomous snake and among the heaviest. Under the genus ''Ophiophagus'', i ...

that inhabits areas south of the

Kra Isthmus The Kra Isthmus (, ; ), also called the Isthmus of Kra in Thailand, is the narrowest part of the Malay Peninsula. The western part of the isthmus belongs to Ranong Province and the eastern part to Chumphon Province, both in Southern Thailan ...

or land bridge joining the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula is located in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The area contains Peninsular Malaysia, Southern Tha ...

with the rest of southeast Asia or Indochina. The countries it is found in include southern Thailand (deep south), western

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

and offshore islands,

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

Bali Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...

, and some of the islands of the southern

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Archipelago.

Description

Large adult ''Ophiophagus bungarus'' generally lack bands, but some specimens may have narrow pale bands that lack dark edges along the body. Its dorsal scales range from brownish-yellow to mahogany, compared to the dark grey of '' O. kaalinga''. Additionally, at the throat, there is little to now contrast between the

ventral Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously the anatomy of humans and other animals. The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position. This position prov ...

and

dorsal scales In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales. Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004). ''The Venomous Reptiles of the Western Hemisphere''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publis ...

. Juvenile ''O. bungarus'' have higher body band counts at 57–87 bands, compared to '' O. hannah'' and ''O. kaalinga'' at 27–48 and 28–48 respectively. However, it is less than Juvenile '' O. salvatana'' which has 85–86 body bands. They can reach 3.6 metres in length. O. bungarus also differs in having a lower pterygoid tooth count of 11, compared to O. hannah with 18–21.

Etymology

The species name "bungarus" comes from the genus name of kraits. It may refer to the fact that, like kraits, it eats other snakes, or to their partially undivided

subcaudals In snakes, the subcaudal scales are the enlarged plates on the underside of the tail. Wright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press. (7t ...

Conservation

''O. bungarus'' has not been reassessed since being split. Therefore, it shares the status of "Vulnerable" with the other king cobras.

References

Elapidae Reptiles described in 2024 Snakes of Asia Snakes of Indonesia Venomous snakes {{Elapidae-stub