The greater black krait (''Bungarus niger'') or black krait, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of krait, a

venomous snake Venomous snakes are species of the suborder Serpentes that are capable of producing venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The venom is typically delivered by injection using hollow or g ...

in the genus ''

Bungarus ''Bungarus'' is a genus of venomous elapid snakes, the kraits ("krait" is pronounced , rhyming with "kite"), found in South and Southeast Asia. The genus ''Bungarus'' has 16 species. Distribution Kraits are found in tropical Asia, from near Ira ...

'' of the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Elapidae Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids ; grc, ἔλλοψ ''éllops'' "sea-fish") is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus Emydoce ...

. The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

Description

''Bungarus niger'' is medium in length, slender-bodied, and triangular in cross-section, with a short, pointed tail. It can grow to a maximum total length (including tail) of about , but adults usually average around . * Colouration: The eyes are black; The tongue is pinkish with a lighter tip.; Upper and lower labials, chin and anterior part of the venter are whitish. Dorsally it is shiny black, intersacle colouration is whitish. The venter is creamy white with black edges, which increases posteriorly from midbody. * The head is flat and slightly distinct from the neck. * The eyes are small to medium in size, with a round pupil. * The

dorsal scales In snakes, the dorsal scales are the longitudinal series of plates that encircle the body, but do not include the ventral scales In snakes, the ventral scales or gastrosteges are the enlarged and transversely elongated scales that extend down t ...

are smooth and glossy, with scales of the vertebral row enlarged and hexagonal. The dorsal scale count is 15 - 15 - 15. It is syntopic with the lesser black krait (''

Bungarus lividus The lesser black krait (''Bungarus lividus'') is a species of venomous elapid snake found in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, स ...

''), but can be separated by the enlarged dorsal vertebral scales. The scales are smooth and without apical pits. * The number of ventral and subcaudals are higher than in all other ''Bungarus'' species (216-231 ventrals and 47-57 subcaudals).Theophilus, Emmanuel; Captain, Ashok; Tillack, Frank; Kuch, Ulrich (2008). "Reptilia, Elapidae, ''Bungarus niger'': Distribution extension and first record for the state of Uttarakhand, India, with notes on snakebites in the Gori River valley". ''Check List'' 4 (4): 404–409.
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Distribution and habitat

''Bungarus niger'' is found in

Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

and

North India North India is a loosely defined region consisting of the northern part of India. The dominant geographical features of North India are the Indo-Gangetic Plain and the Himalayas, which demarcate the region from the Tibetan Plateau and Central ...

(

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Silig ...

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It shares ...

Uttarakhand Uttarakhand ( , or ; , ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; the official name until 2007), is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the "Devbhumi" (literally 'Land of the Gods') due to its religious significance and ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainou ...

, and

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. The species was described by Frank Wall from a specimen obtained from near

Tindharia Tindharia or ''Tindharay'' (English meaning: 'Three streams') is a village in the Kurseong CD block in the Kurseong subdivision of the Darjeeling district in the state of West Bengal, India. History It was developed for the purpose of a rai ...

near

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nepal ...

. The species is also found at Jalpaiguri town and other parts of the district. This species inhabits a wide variety of habitats from mangrove swamps to inhabited villages to montane forests up to elevations of above sea level on the Himalayan foothills. It is often encountered in the tea gardens of the northeastern India.

Behavior and ecology

A nocturnal and terrestrial snake, ''B. niger'' has an inoffensive disposition. When disturbed, it coils loosely and hides its head beneath its body. It is reluctant to bite except upon persistent provocation. It

preys Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

mostly on snakes and small mammals and occasionally lizards, frogs, and fish.

Venom

The venom of ''B. niger'' consists of both presynaptic and postsynaptic neurotoxins, and may also contain

myotoxin Myotoxins are small, basic peptides found in snake venoms (e.g. rattlesnakes) and lizard venoms (e.g. Mexican beaded lizard). This involves a non-enzymatic mechanism that leads to severe muscle necrosis. These peptides act very quickly, causing i ...

s. This snake is often overlooked, but it is a medically important species, as it has caused many bites. The mortality rate associated with it is not known, but is said to be quite high.

Description

Distribution and habitat

Behavior and ecology

Venom

References

Further reading