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{{Short description|Species of snake}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Black krait (Bungarus niger).jpg
| genus = Bungarus
| species = niger
| authority = [[Frank Wall (herpetologist)|Wall]], 1908
}}

The '''greater black krait''' (''Bungarus niger'') or '''black krait''', is a [[species]] of [[krait]], a [[venomous snake]] in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Elapidae]]. The species is [[Endemism|endemic]] to [[South Asia]].

==Description==
''Bungarus niger'' is medium in length, slender-bodied, and triangular in cross-section, with a short, pointed tail. It can grow to a maximum total length (including tail) of about {{convert|1.3|m|ft|abbr=on}}, but adults usually average around {{convert|0.8|m|ft|abbr=on}}. The head is flat and slightly distinct from the neck. The eye is small to medium in size, black with a round pupil. The [[dorsal scales]] are smooth and glossy, with scales of the vertebral row enlarged and hexagonal. The dorsal scale count is 15 - 15 - 15.<ref name=ct>{{cite web|title=''Bungarus niger'' – General Details|url=http://toxinology.com/fusebox.cfm?fuseaction=main.snakes.display&id=SN0024|work=Clinical Toxinology Resource|publisher=University of Adelaide|accessdate=17 April 2012}}</ref> It is [[syntopic]] with the lesser black krait (''[[Bungarus lividus]]''), but can be separated by the enlarged dorsal vertebral scales. The number of ventral and subcaudals are higher than in all other ''Bungarus'' species (216-231 ventrals and 47-57 subcaudals).<ref>Theophilus, Emmanuel; [[Ashok Captain|Captain, Ashok]]; Tillack, Frank; Kuch, Ulrich (2008). "Reptilia, Elapidae, ''Bungarus niger'': Distribution extension and first record for the state of Uttarakhand, India, with notes on snakebites in the Gori River valley". ''Check List'' '''4''' (4): 404–409. [http://www.checklist.org.br/getpdf?NGD100-08 full text]</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==
''Bungarus niger'' is found in [[Northeast India|Northeast]] and [[North India]] ([[Assam]], [[Sikkim]], [[Arunachal Pradesh]], [[Uttarakhand]]), [[Nepal]], [[Bhutan]], and [[Bangladesh]].<ref name=RDB>{{NRDB species|genus=Bungarus|species=niger|accessdate=16 August 2020}}</ref> The species was described by [[Frank Wall (herpetologist)|Frank Wall]] from a specimen obtained from near [[Tindharia]] near [[Darjeeling]].<ref name=W&C04>{{cite book|author1=Whitaker, Romulus|author-link=Romulus Whitaker|author2=Captain, Ashok |title=Snakes of India, The Field Guide|year=2004|publisher=Draco Books. 495 pp.|location=Chennai|isbn=81-901873-0-9}}</ref> The species is also found at Jalpaiguri town and other parts of the district. This species inhabits a wide variety of habitats from mangrove swamps to inhabited villages to montane forests up to elevations of {{convert|1500|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level on the Himalayan foothills.<ref name=blacksnake>{{cite web|author=Ghose A|title=Black snakes at night ''Bungarus niger'', an overlooked cause of snakebite envenoming in South Asia|url=http://www.docstoc.com/docs/50537495/Black-snakes-at-night-Bungarus-niger--an-overlooked|accessdate=17 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116101112/http://www.docstoc.com/docs/50537495/Black-snakes-at-night-Bungarus-niger--an-overlooked|archive-date=2016-11-16|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Behavior and ecology==
A [[Nocturnality|nocturnal]] and terrestrial snake, ''B. niger'' has an inoffensive disposition. When disturbed, it coils loosely and hides its head beneath its body. It is reluctant to bite except upon persistent provocation. It [[predation|preys]] mostly on snakes and small mammals and occasionally [[lizard]]s, frogs, and fish.<ref name=ct/>

==Venom==
The venom of ''B. niger'' consists of both presynaptic and postsynaptic [[neurotoxin]]s, and may also contain [[myotoxin]]s. This snake is often overlooked, but it is a medically important species, as it has caused many bites. The mortality rate associated with it is not known, but is said to be quite high.<ref name=ct/><ref name=blacksnake/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*[[:fr:Indraneil Das|Das I]] (2002). ''A Photographic Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of India''. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 144 pp. {{ISBN|0-88359-056-5}}. (''Bungarus niger'', p. 51).
*Grosselet O, Vauche M, Gupta A, Gupta S (2004). "''Bungarus niger'' Wall, 1908 (Reptilia: Serpentes: Elapidae): Extension of range to Cachar district, Assam, India". ''Russian J. Herpetol.'' '''11''' (1): 10-11.
*[[Joseph Bruno Slowinski|Slowinski JB]] (1994). "A phylogenetic analysis of ''Bungarus'' (Elapidae) based on morphological characters". ''Journal of Herpetology'' '''28''' (4): 440-446.
*[[Malcolm Arthur Smith|Smith MA]] (1943). ''The Fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, Including the Whole of the Indo-Chinese Sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Vol. III.—Serpentes''. London: Secretary of State for India. (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 583 pp. (''Bungarus niger'', p. 417).
*Tillack, Frank; Grossmann, Wolfgang (2001). "''Ein neuer Nachweis zur Schlangenfauna Nepals: ''Bungarus niger'' Wall, 1908 (Reptilia: Serpentes: Elapidae)'' ". ''Sauria'' '''23''' (1): 3-9. (in German).
*[[Frank Wall (herpetologist)|Wall F]] (1908). "A Popular Treatise on the Common Indian Snakes. Part VIII". ''J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.'' '''18''' (4): 711-735 + Plate VIII. (''Bungarus niger'', new species, pp. 715–716).

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2709380}}

[[Category:Bungarus|niger]]
[[Category:Snakes of Asia]]
[[Category:Reptiles of Bangladesh]]
[[Category:Reptiles of Bhutan]]
[[Category:Reptiles of India]]
[[Category:Reptiles of Nepal]]
[[Category:Reptiles described in 1908]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Frank Wall]]

Greater black krait - Revision history

imported>ShortDescBot at 06:28, 5 March 2021