NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Many-banded Krait
Bungarus multicinctus Blyth, 1861
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The many-banded krait (Bungarus multicinctus), also known as the Taiwanese krait or the Chinese krait, is an extremely venomous species of elapid snake found in much of central and southern China and Southeast Asia. The species was first described by the scientist Edward Blyth in 1861. Averaging 1 to 1.5 m (3.5 to 5 ft) in length, it is a black or bluish-black snake with many white bands across its body. The many-banded krait mostly inhabits marshy areas throughout its geographical distribution, though it does occur in other habitat types.
Wikipedia contributors, Many-banded krait; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T06:37:45.543005+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Bungarus multicinctus Blyth, 1861
- Name authority
- Blyth, 1861
- Common name
- Many-banded Krait
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Elapidae
- Genus
- Bungarus
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderSerpentes Linnaeus, 1758
- infraorderAlethinophidia Nopcsa, 1923
- familyElapidae
- genusBungarus
- speciesBungarus multicinctus Blyth, 1861
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Bungarus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Montane Ceylon Krait [karavala]Bungarus ceylonicus Günther, 1864 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Greater Black KraitBungarus niger Wall, 1908 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Red River KraitBungarus slowinskii Kuch, Kizirian, Nguyen, Lawson, Donnelly & Mebs, 2005 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Northeastern Hill KraitBungarus bungaroides (Cantor, 1839) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Common kraitBungarus caeruleus (Schneider, 1801) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lesser Black KraitBungarus lividus Cantor, 1839 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| South Andaman KraitBungarus andamanensis Biswas & Sanyal, 1978 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Many-banded KraitBungarus wanghaotingi Pope, 1928 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Banded KraitBungarus fasciatus (Schneider, 1801) | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bungarus persicus Abtin, Nilson, Mobaraki, Hosseini & Dehgannejhad, 2014 | ElapidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Bungarus semifasciatus Günther, 1858 Günther, 1858 | ambiguous synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Bungarus&species=multicinctus Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:5WRZ7. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.