Common krait
Bungarus caeruleus (Schneider, 1801)
The common krait (Bungarus caeruleus), also called the Indian krait, is a snake in the family Elapidae, within the reptile order Squamata. It falls in the medium size class, with a representative adult body mass of 1.154 kg.
Quick facts about the common krait
Its lifespan is given as 13.95 years, with the highest value reported by our sources at 17.4 years. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 1.15 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- 91 cm – 1.22 msrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 14 years – 17.4 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- grassland, human_modifiedsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 56.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 8src for Young per litter or clutch
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the common krait?
Photos of the common krait
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the common krait live?
Not recorded
What is the common krait?
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.
From the Wikipedia article “Common krait” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_krait&oldid=1365324293), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the common krait endangered?
The common krait is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the common krait classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classReptilia
- orderSquamata
- familyElapidae
- genusBungarus
- SpeciesBungarus caeruleus (Schneider, 1801)
Synonyms Boa latotecta, Boa latotecta, Boa lineata, Bungarus arcuatus, Bungarus candidus, Bungarus candidus var. caeruleus, Bungarus romulusi, Bungarus sindanus, Pseudoboa caerulea
Other names and names in other languages (25)
- Common Indian kraitEnglish
- Common Indian kraitEnglish
- Common/Indian kraitEnglish
- Indian kraitEnglish
- Kal KeuteyBangla
- bungar modravýCzech
- Indischer KraitGerman
- Krait ComúnSpanish
- IntiankraittiFinnish
- Bongare indienFrench
- કાળોતરોGujarati
- közönséges kraitHungarian
- Krait comuneItalian
- Bungaro comuneItalian
- インドアマガサJapanese
- मण्यारMarathi
- ଚିତିOdia
- niemrawiec indyjskiPolish
- Индийский крайтRussian
- Голубой бунгарусRussian
- මග මරුවාSinhala
- තෙල් කරවලාSinhala
- navadni kraitSlovenian
- கட்டுவிரியன்Tamil
- 青環蛇Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the common krait
Other species in the same genus Bungarus.
Banded krait
Bungarus fasciatus
Many-banded krait
Bungarus multicinctus
Blue krait
Bungarus candidus
Red-headed krait
Bungarus flaviceps
Andaman krait
Bungarus andamanensis
Lesser black krait
Bungarus lividus
CompareCommon krait vs Banded kraitCommon krait vs Many-banded kraitCommon krait vs Blue kraitCommon krait vs Red-headed krait
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the common krait?
The common krait is a snake, a reptile in the family Elapidae and the suborder Serpentes.
How heavy is the common krait?
Our sources give a representative adult body mass of 1.154 kg, placing it in the medium size class.
How long does the common krait live?
Its lifespan is given as 13.95 years, and the highest value reported by our sources is 17.4 years.
Is the common krait endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
Who named the common krait?
The scientific name Bungarus caeruleus is credited to (Schneider, 1801).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Common krait (Bungarus caeruleus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-krait
“Common krait (Bungarus caeruleus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-krait.
@misc{common_krait_2026,
title = {Common krait (Bungarus caeruleus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-krait},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}