First record of banded krait (<i>Bungarus fasciatus</i>) from Pilibhit District, Uttar Pradesh - India

The banded krait, Bungarus fasciatus (Schneider, 1801) is one of the venomous elapids of the genus Bungarus Daudin, 1803, widely distributed in South and South-East Asia. It bears conspicuous equally spaced, wide yellow or pale brown and black bands. Uppermost scales on the back are hexagonal in shape and overall scales are glossy in appearance. Its head is slightly broader than neck and eyes entirely black. This snake is nocturnal in habit and prefers open plain areas (Whitaker & Captain, 2004). The snout is bluntly rounded. On the top of the head there is yellow ‘V’, the arms of which diverge backwards and passes over the temples to the throat. The crown is black except lips and lore which are yellow in colour. The triangular body shape in cross-section, bluntly ending finger like tail and peculiar banding pattern are the prominent identification keys to distinguish this snake. The young broods bear more pointed tails than adults and a modified colouring, the yellow colour being replaced by dirty white and the black colour by leaden hue. This snake is reported to be sluggish and timid even in the presence of provocation but able to devour other snakes, sometimes longer than its own body length (Wall, 1910 & 1912).