Rediscovery of the
Banded Krait Bungarus fasciatus(Schneider 1801) (Serpentes: Elapidae)
from Warangal District, Andhra Pradesh, India
C. Srinivasulu 1, D. Venkateshwarlu 2 & M. Seetharamaraju3
1,3 Wildlife Biology Section, Department of Zoology, University
College of Science, Osmania University, Hyderabad,
Andhra Pradesh 500007, India
2 Shankarajpalli, Eturnagaram, Warangal District, Andhra Pradesh 506165,
India
Email: hyd2masawa@gmail.com 1
Date of online
publication 26 June 2009
ISSN 0974-7907 (online) |
0974-7893 (print)
Editor: Ashok Captain
Manuscript details:
Ms # o1986
Received 28 April 2008
Final received 12 March 2009
Finally accepted 04 June 2009
Citation: Srinivasulu, C., D. Venkateshwarlu& M. Seetharamaraju (2009). Rediscovery of the
Banded Krait Bungarus fasciatus(Schneider 1801) (Serpentes: Elapidae)
from Warangal District, Andhra Pradesh, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 1(6): 353-354.
Copyright: © C. Srinivasulu, D. Venkateshwarlu& M. Seetharamaraju 2009. Creative Commons
Attribution 3.0 Unported License. JoTTallows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes,
reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and
the source of publication.
The Banded Krait Bungarus fasciatus(Schneider 1801) is one of eight species of kraits in India. The generic nomen,
which is the Latinized rendering of the local name “Bangarum Pamah” (meaning golden snake) by which the Banded
Krait is known by the Telugu speaking natives of Orissa (Russell 1796), was
erected by Daudin in 1803 (Boulenger1890; Wall 1912). It ranges from South
Asia (parts of peninsular India and northeast India) to Southeast Asia (whole
of Indo-Chinese region from Myanmar to Malaysian peninsula and archipelago,
Wall 1912; Smith 1943). In
India, its range includes the northeast, West Bengal, Orissa, parts of
Maharashtra, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh
(Wall 1912; Kinnear 1913; Smith 1943; Sanyal et al. 1993; Das 2002; Sharma 2003; Whitaker & Captain 2004).
The Banded Krait is easily
recognizable by a combination of characters: the distinct equal-width
alternating bands of canary yellow or buff, and black or purplish-black on a
body that is distinctly triangular in cross-section, and by its blunt, rounded
tail tip. Fully grown adults average
around five feet six inches and rarely grow up to six to seven feet in length
(Smith 1911). The head is not broader
than the neck; the body is smooth and glossy. Each colouredband completely encircles the body and involves five to seven scales in the
length. The head is black with an inverted yellow ‘V’ and the chin and throat
are yellow (Wall 1912; Smith 1943; Das 2002; Sharma 2003; Whitaker &
Captain, 2004).
From Andhra Pradesh, the Banded
Krait has been reported from Narsampet (17055’N
& 79054’E), Warangal District based on a single specimen that
was shot by Mr. G.E.C. Wakefield on 26 December 1912 while it was swimming in a
stream (Kinnear 1913). This locality is the southernmost limit of
the Banded Krait’s range in Peninsular India (Smith 1943; Sanyalet al. 1993; Sharma 2003; Whitaker & Captain 2004). Through this communication we put on record
the re-sighting of the Banded Krait in Warangal district, Andhra Pradesh after
a gap of 95 years, about 70 kilometers north northwest of Narsampet.
We had been studying wildlife of
forested tracts of Warangal District, Andhra Pradesh since 1996 and failed to
encounter either living or dead specimen of Banded Krait until November 2006,
when it was first sighted by the second author while it was crossing the road
at dusk near Roheer in EturnagaramWildlife Sanctuary. After that we came across dead specimens of Banded Krait on
three occasions in Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary
from November 2006 to November 2007 (Image 1). The first specimen was killed by local cowherds on November 8, 2006 near
eight kilometer milestone on Eturnagaram to Roheer Road. Enquiries with the locals revealed that they had never seen this kind of
snake and believed it might have migrated from elsewhere along the
Godavari. The second specimen, a road
kill, was observed on July 25, 2007 about six kilometers from Eturnagaram on the same road. The third specimen, again a
road kill, was observed on August 5, 2007 five kilometer from Eturnagaram on the same road. We collected the intact head
of the last specimen (Images 2 & 3) and deposited it as voucher specimen in
the Natural History Museum of Osmania University,
Hyderabad (Reg.No. NHM.OU.REP.4-2007).
The Banded Krait has been noted
to show affinity for damp places in open tracts of country, grasslands, crops
or low sparse jungles (Wall 1912). All
our observations are from the vicinity of water bodies in EturnagaramWildlife Sanctuary. The first live
specimen was sighted about five hundred meters from where the first dead
specimen was observed in November 2006. The place where it was sighted moving
slowly underneath a Randia dumetorum bush is located in the mixed teak forested
tract about one kilometer east of Jampanna Vagu (a perennial stream) and two kilometers west of the
Godavari River. The second and third specimens were sighted near Butaram Tank adjacent to croplands. The habitat here is
characterized by dense undergrowth with Terminalia arjuna and Butea monospermatrees. The adjacent croplands have artisan wells and water is present in the
wells and other natural water bodies throughout the year.
The Banded Krait is partial to an
ophidian diet (Wall 1912) and has been reported to feed on rat snakes, tree
snakes, checkered keelback, buff-striped keelback, cobra, grass snake (Primrose 1899), python, vine
snakes, lizards, frogs and fish (Wall 1912; Daniel 2002; Das 2002; Whitaker
& Captain 2004). The third specimen that we encountered had fed on
Buff-striped Keelback Amphiesma stolatum (Image 2).
Based on these recent
observations and evidence, we put on record the presence of the Banded Krait inEturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary and confirm its
presence in Warangal district of Andhra Pradesh after about 100 years of its
first report. Owing to the
misinterpretation of a previous locality record from Andhra Pradesh (then
Hyderabad State), many authors have reported its range to be ‘as far south as
Hyderabad’ (Wall 1912; Martin 1913; Daniel 2002; Sharma 2003). Hyderabad (17023’N
& 78029’E), the state capital of Andhra Pradesh, is located
about 187 km southwest of Narsampet as the crow
flies, and we urge future researchers to quote Narsampetas the southern most record of this species from peninsular India. As this species is of timid nature, it
becomes an easy prey to human indifference as well as vehicular movement, thus
we recommend that the State Forest Department should take necessary steps to
put up warning signs on roads cautioning drivers not to run over crossing
snakes and educate local villagers about the ecological importance of this
species. These steps would ensure the
survival of the Banded Krait Bungarus fasciatus (Schneider 1800) in EturnagaramWildlife Sanctuary, Andhra Pradesh.
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