Nick Name:
Size: Average 90 centimeters, maximum 1.5 meters.
Appearance: Jet Black or bluish-black, usually with white narrow white thin crossbands (around about 40) and a narrow head. Body armored with Smooth and glossy scales. Actually, the body colour varies from a dark steely blue-black in a specimen which has freshly shed its skin to a pale faded bluish grey in one just about to shed. The young and some adults may have white spots along the first third of the backbone in place of the cross lines. This variation as well as uniform black variants appear in certain geographic races. The underside is white.
Type of Venom: Its venom is a powerful neurotoxin that causes respiratory failure.
Clinically it contains pre-synaptic neurotoxins. These neurotoxins generally affect the nerve endings near the synaptic gap of the brain. There is little or absolutely no pain in the bitten area and victims die complaining of severe abdominal cramps, after 6-8 hours after the bite.
Distribution: Most of India including the Andaman and Nicobar Islands: sea level up to 1700 m. uncommon in Bengal, Assam and Orissa, where the Banded Krait is found; Sri Lanka, and Pakistan.
Feeds on: rats and mice and are found in rat holes and termite mounds. They also prey on lizards and smaller snakes. They will devour their young being cannibalistic in nature.
Side Line:
- Kraits are found only in Asia.
- This snake is of special concern to man. It is deadly--about 15 times more deadly than the common cobra. The native people often step on kraits while walking through their habitats.
- The Common Krait is the best known of the 6 Krait species found in India and one of the big Four dangerous snakes.
- Besides the Common and Banded Krait, the other krait are rare and confined to the eastern Himalayas and Assam.
- The males are quite sex conscious and aggressive in territories. 1 bite from the common krait can kill 60 people
http://snakes.110mb.com/Krait.html
No comments:
Post a Comment