Reptiles · Squamata · Elapidae

Banded Krait

Bungarus fasciatus

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The banded krait is unmistakable for its alternating black and yellow rings and for a vertebral ridge that gives its back a triangular cross-section. It is a highly venomous elapid but notably listless by day: it will let itself be handled with barely a reaction, and practically all accidents happen at night, when it becomes active.

Weight

3.1 kg on average

Size

1 m – 2.1 m

Lifespan

15 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

RainforestFreshwaterGrasslandCarnivore Nocturnal Solitary Reptile Rainforest Freshwater Grassland

16countries 19parks17same family

Fun facts

By day it is almost inert: it lets itself be handled with barely a reaction and hides its head under the coils of its body, a daytime torpor so marked that for a long time it was considered harmless. At night it changes completely.
Its back has a prominent vertebral ridge that gives the body a triangular cross-section, an anatomical feature that tells it apart from any other banded snake in its range.
It eats mainly other snakes, and its diet includes venomous species to whose venom it has some resistance.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (reptile)
Habitat & environment: Rainforest, rice fields, wetland margins and farmland of South-East Asia
Sexual maturity: 2 years
Gestation / incubation: 60 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 8 eggs

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bungarus_fasciatus