NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Common krait
Bungarus caeruleus (Schneider, 1801)
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 common krait (Bungarus caeruleus) is a highly venomous snake species belonging to the genus Bungarus in the family Elapidae. It has a black or bluish-black body with narrow white crossbands, typically reaching a length of 0.91 to 1.22 m (3 to 4 ft). It is widely distributed across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal, inhabiting grasslands, agricultural fields, and human settlements. It is known for its potent neurotoxic venom and responsible for the majority of medically significant snakebites in the Indian subcontinent.
Wikipedia contributors, Common krait; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:55:58.179444+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Bungarus caeruleus (Schneider, 1801)
- Name authority
- (Schneider, 1801)
- Common name
- Common 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 caeruleus (Schneider, 1801)
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 |
| 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 |
| Many-banded KraitBungarus multicinctus Blyth, 1861 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Pseudoboa caerulea Schneider, 1801 Schneider, 1801 | synonym |
| Bungarus candidus var. caeruleus Boulenger, 1896 Boulenger, 1896 | synonym |
| Bungarus sindanus Boulenger, 1897 Boulenger, 1897 | ambiguous synonym |
| Boa latotecta Boie, 1827 Boie, 1827 | synonym |
| Bungarus arcuatus Duméril & Bibron, 1854 Duméril & Bibron, 1854 | synonym |
| Boa lineata Shaw, 1802 Shaw, 1802 | synonym |
| Bungarus romulusi Sunagar et al., 2021 Sunagar et al., 2021 | synonym |
| Boa latotecta Hermann, 1804 Hermann, 1804 | 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=caeruleus 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:68RYX. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.