HUBBALLI: In ground-breaking research, well-known wildlife biologist P Gowri Shankar from Agumbe has proved that king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) — the longest venomous snake in the world, has four different species. The discovery comes 185 years after it was first described in 1836.
The king cobra has so far been considered as a single species. Gowri Shankar, who is known for his work on king cobra conservation, has led the study that spread across several countries in South and South East Asia and took 10 long years.
Gowri Shankar looked at widespread distribution of king cobras and hypothesised that king cobras could have multiple species. Many scientists had proposed similar hypotheses earlier, but could not establish them and this led to Gowri Shankar’s PhD research. In 2012, he teamed up with various organisations and universities to plan and execute his study.
Under the supervision of Dr Kartik Shanker from IISc, Dr SK Dutta (Prof. Emeritus) and Prof Jacob Hoglund from Uppsala University, Sweden, he collected tissue samples of king cobras in different habitats to establish the different variants.
King cobra: Two variants in India
Priyanka Swamy supported the DNA analysis and SR Ganesh, a taxonomist, supported with morphological characters.
“We collected tissue samples by clipping the ventral scales from the field, zoos and museums. The team then processed these samples to obtain the DNA sequences. We photographed king cobras from different regions and studied their physical characteristics. After years of analysis, the riddle was solved,” Gowri Shakar told TNIE.
Out of the four variants, two are found in India. Gowri Shankar has named one of the cobras endemic to India in Kannada as Ophiophagus kaalinga. The state forest department is expected to make the announcement this month.
Gowri Shankar said the king cobra is categorised as “vulnerable” under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Assessment (IUCN, 2012) and also listed in Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Habitat destruction, skin trade, food, medicine and pet trade are threatening king cobra populations, he added. “Not much details are available when it comes to king cobra venom. Apart from answering fundamental and theoretical questions, this study will immediately help assess which species of king cobras need immediate attention and what conservation measures need implementation. It also studies the venom composition of these species as this will have a direct impact on the efficacy of antivenom and snake bite mitigation,” he noted.