Maybe you don't know much about the king cobra, but you should know that it is not easy to mess with just by the name. Although the name of the king cobra has the word cobra, it does not belong to the genus Cobra, but a separate genus kind. Below, the editor will introduce you to the king cobra through this popular science.

I. Basic information

[Chinese name] King Cobra

[Latin name] Ophiophagus hannah

[Another name] Crossing the Mountain Wind, Mountain Snake

[Kingdom] Animal Kingdom

[Door] Chordate

[Subdoor] Vertebrae Zodiac

[Class] Reptiles

[Subclass] Biporia

[Order] Squamata

[Subclass] Order] Snake suborder

[Family] Cobra family

[Subfamily] Cobra subfamily

[Genus] King Cobra

【Species】King cobra

II. Appearance characteristics

The body length of the king cobra is generally 3-5 meters, and the longest can reach About 5.5 meters. The main color of its body is black with yellow-white stripes around it. Like cobras, king cobras have skinfolds on their necks that can bulge outwards to intimidate opponents. Different from the cobra, the king cobra has an inverted V-shaped yellow-white marking on the nape, while the back of the cobra is a spectacle-shaped circle.

III. Habits

1. Habitat

The king cobra lives widely in plains, hills and mountains, and often occurs near water. At the same time, there will also be king cobras in the desert.

2. Eating habits

The king cobra is a carnivore, mainly preying on snakes and lizards, but also birds, bird eggs and rodents. Sometimes they even eat their own kind.

3. Breeding method

The reproduction method of the king cobra is oviparous. The breeding time is in June every year. The female snake can lay about 50 eggs each time. King cobras are the only snakes that can build nests. They build nests with fallen leaves and dead branches. Female snakes have the habit of guarding their eggs and will guard the nests, waiting for the little snakes to hatch.

PS: Female king cobras are more aggressive during breeding and even kill their mating mates directly.

IV. Toxicity

The venom of the king cobra is mainly neurotoxin. After this venom is injected into the victim's body, the toxin will rapidly attack the central nervous system of the bitten, resulting in severe Pain, dizziness, paralysis and other symptoms; the injured will die from shock due to the collapse of the cardiovascular system.

The king cobra injects a lot of venom at a time. It can inject an average of 200-500 mg of venom, and the maximum venom secretion can even reach 7 ml. If the person bitten by it is not treated in time, it will die within 30 minutes. Even a huge Asian elephant can die within 3 hours of being bitten by it.

V. Status of the population

Because of the high economic value of the king cobra, its skin, meat, blood, gall, and venom have different characteristics. Its medicinal value, especially its snake venom, is called liquid gold. Therefore, they were hunted and killed by humans, resulting in a significant reduction in the wild population.

Well, the introduction of the king cobra, the editor will stop here! If you have any questions, please leave a message in the comment section below~