Kraits

Southeast Asia Snakes

Snakes ~ Kraits

Kraits are highly venomous snakes distributed widely across Southeast Asia in Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia and Borneo. It is one of the most feared venomous snakes next to cobras. Krait bites, while rarer than other dangerous venomous species, often result in high fatality rates due to their powerful neurotoxic venom and propensity for being misidentified as wolf snakes or underestimated in terms of its venom potency. Kraits are strictly terrestial and nocturnal, often being described as having docile natures during the day and a Hyde complexity at night. When threatened, kraits will tuck their heads under the body in a coil and flash their tail in the air. In Peninsular Malaysia, three krait species that occupy lowland to mid-level rainforest are described.

The blue krait and banded krait can often be mistaken as wolf snakes (Lycodon species) due to their similiar patterns and colouration at the juvenile stage. However, both species have a triangular frame and a few key characteristics to the morphology, including a distinct spacing of bands, shape of snout and other markings. For researchers, it is of utmost importance to be able to key such species as fatalities have ensued in the field due to such an error.

The blue krait, or Bungarus candidus, is a common species on the mainland. It is identifiable by its broad white and black bands on the body along with a squarish head and muzzled snout. The white bands have irregular black markings while the head is completely dark. Some yellow hues may or not be present along the flanks. The banded krait, or Bungarus fasciatus, is easily differentiated from the blue krait by the chevron-like pattern on the head, although the rest of the patterning is similiar to Bungarus candidus. Both species are very widespread across the Peninsular but are rarely spotted due to their secretive nature. In the wild, they hunt fossorial and aquatic snakes as prey, occuring in lowland to mid-level rainforest.

The red-headed krait, or Bungarus flaviceps, is a beautiful but rare krait species found in lowland to mid-level rainforest, including some of Peninsular Malaysia's islands. This venomous Elapid is easily identified by its bold red head, zipper-like white ventrolateral line and sharp red tail. This large krait species can further be differentiated from the blue coral snake by its robust shape, greyish ventrals and clearer reddish irises, which appear almost opaque in Calliophis bivirgata flaviceps. The red-headed krait is a shy but skittish species. Bites from this species are extremely rare, but its venom toxicity should be considered potentially fatal. It feeds exclusively on snakes in the wild. Juveniles are miniature versions of adults, but otherwise, the ecology of this species is poorly-known.