Poisonous Snakes of the India

Poisonous Snakes of the India

We all know about snakes, chief poisonous snakes of the India belong to four categories, which are:

1. Cobras.

2. Kraits.

3. Vipers.

4. Sea-snakes.

Cobras

These are highly poisonous snakes. Third supra-labial touches nasal scale and eye. Neck can be expanded into a hood which may bear spectacle mark. Out of ten species of cobra, only two are common in India, which is:

1. Common Indian Cobra (Naja naja), and

2. King Cobra, (Naja Hannah).

The common Indian Cobra is brown or dark blackish in colour. The colour turns golden yellow after hibernation. It is usually found in old and deserted buildings. Its chief characteristic is the presence of a well- marked hood. According to the marking on the hood there are three types of cobras:

1. The hood bears a spectacle mark. Such forms are found in Maharashtra.

2. The hood bears a single oval spot surrounded by an ellipse. These are called monocle cobras and are found in Bengal and Assam.

3. In some there are almost no marks on the hood. Such forms are found in Cutch, Rajasthan and MP.

Another characteristic of cobras is the presence of a third supralabial scale which extends from the eye to the nasal scale. The subcaudals are double (paired) and bellyplates are entire. White cobras have also been reported from some parts of the country. The cobras are oviparous. The venom of cobra is neurotoxic.

The King Cobra is usually found in dense forests. It grows to a length of about 3 metres. It is found in Assam, the Nilgiri hills and parts of karwar. Its hood is without any mark and is less wide but longer in size. The subcaudals near the vent or anus are not paired. It possesses two large occipital shields behind the parietals on the poisonous snakes. The venom is neurotoxic in nature.

Krait

It is a highly poisonous snake and has characters like, broad band like plates on the belly, vertebral scales enlarged and hexagonal, fourth infra-labial is the largest, and lail is cylindrical. Kraits are deadly and strongly keeled. The scales on the sides of the body have serrations and hence it is called saw-scaled viper. Three species of Kraits are found in India, Bungarus coeruleus, Bungarus fasciatus and Bungarus niger.

Viper

These snakes have pear-shaped heads covered with small scales. There are broad plates on the belly. There are two types of vipers, Pit viper and Pitless viper. Pit viper snakes have a distinct pit on either side of the head between the nostril and the eye. For example, Ancistrodon himalayansis, A. Hypnale, Trimeresurus gramineus (green pit viper).

On the other hand, Pitless viper snakes have the same characters as pit vipers but without any pit. Russel`s viper is a type of pitless viper, it is commonly found in the rocky regions of the India. It is brownish in colour with three rows of large diamond-shaped spots on the dorsal side of the body. It produces a loud hissing sound. Vipers are highly poisonous snakes.

Sea Snake

These are highly poisonous snakes. The tail is flat being laterally compressed. Belly plates are not broad. Nostrils are situated at the tip of snout and provided with valves. The back is dirty green or dull blue in colour and the ventral side is white. There are black, greenish or bluish stripes on the back. The sea snake which is commonly found in the coastal waters of India is Hydrophis.

Reference

1. Britannica Reference Encyclopaedia 

2. Knowledge Encyclopedia Animal!: The Animal Kingdom as you've Never Seen it Before

3. Images are taken from Zoo-Que and Google.

4. In Defense of Plants: An Exploration Into the Wonder of Plants

5. A Naturalist’s Guide to the Birds of India

6. Earth: A Sustainable Planet

Also See

• Migration & Navigation of Birds

• Archaeopteryx – The First Bird`s Fossil

• Parrots 

• Bats

• Bears

• Woodpecker 

• Birds

• Flightless Birds 

• Corals, Jellyfish and Sea Anemones

• Butterflies, Bees and Ants 

• Starfish and member of Echinoderm 

• Jawless Fish

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