Common Krait கட்டு விரியன்

Common name: Common Krait

Tamil name: கட்டு விரியன்

Binomial name: Bangarus caeruleus

Photo shot at: Near the gallery in playground, BDU

Photo credit: Gladwin John 

Venom: Neurotoxic , haemotoxic

Fields, shrub jungles, common near human habitation. The Common krait is a nocturnal hunter. During the day it’s sluggish and doesn’t bite easily, but at night it’s highly active and dangerous. The bite is almost painless and often goes unnoticed with lethal consequences. There are several cases, where people sleeping on the ground are bitten and die in their sleep. The common krait is confused with the Common Wolf Snake. The Krait has no neck region while the wolf snake has a distinct neck. In Krait the top row of dorsal scales are “Hexagonal” which differs it from wolf snake. The hexagonal scale is marked in “red” above to make you understand.