A Comparative Study of Kraits (Squamata: Elapidae: Bungarus) Found in West Bengal, India

Pradip Bhattacharjee¹ , Saikat Sarkar²

Section:Research Paper, Product Type: Journal-Paper
Vol.8 , Issue.1 , pp.55-59, Feb-2021

Online published on Feb 28, 2021

Copyright © Pradip Bhattacharjee, Saikat Sarkar . This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
 

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Abstract :
A collective data on kraits (genus Bungarus) showed the presence of six different species of kraits in West Bengal, India. The recorded krait species are- Common Krait or Indian Krait (B. caeruleus), Banded Krait (B. fasciatus), Wall’s Krait (B. walli), Greater Black Krait (B. niger), Lesser Black Krait (B. lividus) and North-eastern Hill Krait (B. bungaroides). There was a constant debate over the existence of some of those species, and some misconceptions too, but based on the recent data collected from various authentic sources as well as based on our field study, it is confirmed that six species of kraits are available, although their distribution differs significantly. The unique pattern of envenomation and subsequent symptoms of krait bite are the major reasons to understand the kraits in depth. This study is mainly aimed to prepare a comparative data on the general morphology with special reference to their identifying features and distribution in West Bengal.

Key-Words / Index Term :
Bungarus, Distribution, Kraits, Morphology, Snakes.

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