Researching from specimens, scientists determined that there are four new species of king cobras instead of just one species as before.
The mighty king cobra is actually a group of four species. Image: Getty
The king cobra, the world’s longest venomous snake, is actually four separate species, according to a new study conducted by scientists from India, England, and Malaysia published in the Journal of Taxonomy. Europe on October 16.
For the past 188 years, king cobras have been represented by a single species, Ophiophagus hannah. However, this widely distributed species shows great variation in body color and different morphological features between regions, leading scientists to question whether it is a single species. or not.
In 2021, a study confirmed genetic differences between king cobra populations. Based on this study, scientists compared morphological differences in 153 museum specimens. Analyzing the body morphology of the specimens, including color, body width and tooth characteristics, helped them identify four species that corresponded to the genetic lineages found in the 2021 study.
Four identified species of king cobra include: Northern king cobra (O. hannah), Sunda king cobra (O. bungarus), Western Ghat king cobra (O. Carling) and the Luzon king cobra (O. salvatana).
Northern king cobra (O. hannah) is widely distributed throughout the sub-Himalayas, eastern India, Myanmar and Indochina, extending south to the Isthmus of Kra, the narrowest part of the Thai peninsula. Adults have yellow bands bordered with black and have 18 to 21 teeth.
Sunda king cobra (O. bungarus) lives in the Malay Peninsula and islands of the Greater Sunda archipelago, including Sumatra, Borneo and Java, as well as in Mindoro, Philippines. Large individuals of this species are often bandless or have narrow, pale bands with black edges along the body.
Western Ghat king cobra (O. Carling) is found only in the Western Ghats of peninsular India. This species is different from O. bungarus in that it does not have a black border around the light colored bands along the body.
Like O. CarlingLuzon king cobra (O. salvatana) lives in Luzon, an island in the northern Philippines. It has pale bands on its body that are extremely angular compared to the bands of the other three species.
All of these species are venomous. The king cobra is one of the most venomous snakes in the world. One of their bites can release a large amount of venom, enough to kill a person in just 15 minutes. This study could be the first step in developing more effective antivenoms from king cobra bites in respective areas.
Study author Gowri Shankar Pogiri, founder of the Kalinga Foundation and director of the Kalinga Center for Rainforest Ecology, said there may be more unknown species of king cobras on small islands not included in this study. . “Research on them is underway,” he said.