Green Minute News:
The King Cobra riddle has finally been solved after 185 years. Research studies reveal the King Cobra is not a single species but four different species found across India, South Asia and South East Asia.
Published in the “Journal of Elsevier” under “Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution” in August 2021 and The European Journal of Taxonomy (October 16, 2024 the study says this will help in conservation of these species, facing many challenging eco-issues.
Dr P Gowri Shankar, Kalinga Foundation, King Cobra conservationist & Wildlife Biologist and his team have found that there are 4 different species after 12 years of research & studies.
The project research team on this included Priyanka Swamy, Dr Ganesh S.R, Dr Vijayakumar S.P, Rhiannon Williams, and Prashanth P.
RESEARCH STUDIES
Looking at their widespread distribution, Dr Gowri Shankar hypothesized that king cobras could represent a species complex in which multiple species could exist. In fact, many scientists had earlier proposed similar hypotheses but could not establish them.
Therefore, their research included collection of tissue samples, analysis of volumes of data and collaboration with scientists, universities & state forest departments of Karnataka, Odisha, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andaman Islands, Goa, Mizoram, & Uttarakhand.
DNA SEQUENCING
With relevant permissions on hand, Dr Gowri Shankar collected tissue samples by clipping the ventral scales similar to cutting nails or hair from the field, zoos, and museums.
The team then processed these samples to obtain the DNA sequences. They photographed king cobras from different regions and studied their physical characteristics. Finally, they arrived at their results of king cobra being multi-species.
DISCOVERY OF FOUR DIFFERENT SPECIES:
1. Northern king cobra: Ophiophagus hannah (Cantor, 1836) – restricted to eastern Pakistan, northern and eastern India, Andaman Islands, Indo-Burma, Indo-China, and Thailand. This species has 50-70 bands while the snake is known to grow up to 18 feet in Thailand.
2. Sunda king cobra: Ophiophagus bungarus (Schlegel, 1837) comb. nov. – inhabiting the Sunda Shelf area, including the Malay Peninsula, Greater Sunda Islands, and parts of southern Philippines. This one has 70 bands while the species is known to reach up to 15 feet.
3. Western Ghats king cobra: Ophiophagus kaalinga sp. nov. – a newly described species endemic to the Western Ghats of south western India. The Kaalinga species has less than 40 bands and is recorded only till 15 feet.
4. Luzon king cobra: Ophiophagus salvatana sp. nov. – another newly described species, inhabiting Luzon in the northern Philippines. This species restricted to Luzon is different with no bands.
SCIENTIFIC FINDINGS
Dr Gowri Shankar further states, “We observed distinctions in their colour patterns, banding, certain scales, and body proportions. Apart from this, the study of band patterns revealed the different species. We also considered the number of bands on the body of live snake specimens including both juveniles and adults, as well as males and females.”
The genetic structure was studied in detail in the King Cobra complex. “On the genetic level, the differences between them are about 1-4 percent, which might seem small, but one should remember even humans are just 1 percent different from chimps. Our findings identified four geographically separate lineages, including the lineage in the Western Ghats as an endemic lineage with an independent evolutionary history, and so, a separate species.” he stated.
THE KING COBRA SPECIES
The king cobra so far was considered as a monotypic genus which means king cobras all over the world were considered as a single species. They have long roamed the jungles of south and southeast Asia & it is the world’s longest venomous snake (15-18 feet long).
Since it is also a snake eater, it was named Ophiophagus hannah (Ophio = snake, phagus = eating) by Cantor, in 1836.
FROM SOUTH ASIA TO SE ASIA
They occur in varied habitats ranging from the tropics, subtropics and temperate areas.
This includes wet regions of the Western and Eastern Ghats of Peninsular India and Andaman Islands, the Himalayan foothills of northern India (Uttarakhand), east across Northeast India to southern China, and south east across Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, to Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Bali, Sulawesi and with its easternmost extent in Mindanao in the Philippines.
Presently, the king cobra is categorized as ‘Vulnerable’ under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Assessment (IUCN, 2012) and listed in Appendix II of the CITES. Habitat destruction, skin trade, food, medicine and pet trade threaten the population of king cobras.
NEED FOR CONSERVATION
“We know next to nothing when it comes to king cobra venom. Spending close to a decade on this by a highly efficient team is worth every paise as these results have set the baseline for all further work related to king cobra conservation,” says Dr Gowri Shankar.
So, this study will help to:
- Assess which species of king cobras needs immediate attention,
- What conservation measures need implementation?
- Study the venom composition of these species which will have a direct impact on the efficacy of anti-venom production & snake bite mitigation,
- Reassess the conservation status and revisit management plans for its conservation.
CONSERVATION STRATEGIES
Their findings highlight the presence of multiple independent lineages that need to be considered as different conservation units, which require different conservation strategies based on the particular threats facing them in each region.
Ophiophagus hannah is currently listed as Vulnerable in the Red List (IUCN, 2012), which is largely influenced by its large geographical range. The recognition of four lineages as different species, each with different range sizes, suggests the need for a revision of their threat status.
NAMMA KAALINGA, PRIDE OF KARNATAKA
Meanwhile, the Kalinga Foundation and Dr P Gowri Shankar are celebrating the discovery of the four different species of King Cobra in Bengaluru.
This will be held on November 22 at 4 pm at J N Tata Auditorium, Indian Institute of Science. The talk will focus on the Western Ghats king cobra species – the Kaalinga.
(PHOTO CREDIT: ALL PICS BY DR P GOWRI SHANKAR EXCEPT IMAGE-7, CREDIT TO WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)