Ophiophagus bungarus SCHLEGEL, 1837
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Ophiophagus bungarus
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| Higher Taxa | Elapidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Sunda king cobra |
| Synonym | Naja bungaroides BOIE 1828: 250 (nom. nud.) Naja bungarus SCHLEGEL 1837 Dendraspis bungarus FITZINGER 1843 Naja ingens VAN HASSELT 1882 Naia bungarus — WALL 1908: 331 Naia bungarus — WALL 1908: 33 Ophiophagus bungarus — DAS et al. 2024: 19 |
| Distribution | Indonesia (Java Barat) Type locality: Java, Java Barat Province, Tjihao or Cihoe or Tji Hoe; 6.43° S, 107.13° E. |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Lectotype: RMNH 1334, ♂, hatchling; Apr. 1827; Heinrich Boie (1784–1827) and Heinrich Christian Macklot (1799–1827) leg. [see Troelstra 2016], designated by Das et al. 2024. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A species of Ophiophagus inhabiting Malesia, south of the Isthmus of Kra (southern Thailand, peninsular Malaysia, Sunda Archipelago, east to parts of southern and central Philippines) and showing the following combination of characters: mostly unbanded in large individuals, occasionally with narrow pale bands, lacking darker edges, along body of adults (vs unbanded in adult O. salvatana sp. nov.; dark-edged pale band in O. hannah). It differs from O. kaalinga sp. nov. in having a brownish-yellow to mahogany dorsum, with or without (in large adults) slightly paler, narrow bands (vs dorsum dark grey with yellow bands that expand on lower flanks); dorsum ground colour showing little to no contrast at the meeting point of ventral scales at gular region (vs with a clear line of separation from ventrals in gular region). The higher body band counts (57–87) of juvenile O. bungarus separate it from those of O. hannah (27–48), and O. kaalinga (28–48). The pale body bands of juvenile O. bungarus are more rounded, the dark interband areas covering 4–9 scales (Fig. 12B), whereas they are extremely angular in O. salvatana, with the dark interband areas covering 2–3 scales (Fig. 12D); relative tail length ranging vs 19.3–25.1% with a mean of 22.2% (vs 21.7–26.4% [24.05%] in O. hannah; vs 18.0–19.9% [18.95%] in O. kaalinga; vs 18.7–23.0% [20.85%] in O. salvatana). Finally, O. bungarus differs from O. hannah in having a lower pterygoid tooth count of 11 (vs 18–21). (Das et al. 2024) |
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