The Four Kings

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For nearly two centuries, scientists believed that the king cobra reigned in parts of South and Southeast Asia as a single species.

Now, a new study found that the world’s longest venomous snake is not unique but four genetically separate species.

“I feel like we created history,” the study’s lead researcher, Pogiri Gowri Shankar, told Mongabay.

The mistaken assumption dates back almost two centuries. In 1836, Danish physician and zoologist Theodore Cantor first described the king cobra as a single species, named Ophiophagus hannah.

Fast forward to 2021, Gowri Shankar and his colleagues conducted a DNA analysis on the snake, where they reported four distinct populations, with a one to four percent genetic variation.

“Between humans and chimpanzees, there is only one percent gene variation,” Gowri Shankar told the Deccan Herald, an Indian newspaper. “So, the one percent to four percent difference among king cobras makes them four different species.”

But they didn’t stop there.

In new research, the researchers conducted deeper investigations by looking at tissue samples from various king cobras in the wild, museums and zoos. After closely analyzing the physical traits, colors and dental characteristics, they identified four separate species occupying different countries and regions, Live Science noted.

One species is the Northern king cobra (O. hannah), widespread across the sub-Himalayan region, eastern India, Myanmar, and Indochina: It has dark-edged yellow bands and 18 to 21 teeth.

In the Malay Peninsula and Greater Sunda Islands, there is the Sunda king cobra (O. bungarus), often unbanded or with narrow pale bands without dark edges.

Meanwhile in India, the Western Ghats king cobra (O. kaalinga) slithers around the Western Ghats mountain range. This creature has no dark edges on its pale body bands.

Finally, the Luzon king cobra (O. salvatana) is found only on Luzon Island in the Philippines. It’s recognized by its distinct angular pale bands.

Pogiri Shankar added that there could be more undiscovered species hiding on small, remote islands.

Still, the authors hope that the findings will help improve conservation strategies for each species, particularly as they face threats from habitat destruction, the illegal wildlife trade and human activity.

“This study will immediately help us in assessing which species of king cobras needs immediate attention … and in studying the venom composition of these species,” Pogiri Shankar told the Herald.