King cobra: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the king cobra lives – recorded in 4 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Ophiophagus hannah
Group	Snakes
Status	Vulnerable (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	4 countries
Continents	Asia
Class	Reptile
Order	Squamata
Family	Elapidae

Where does the king cobra live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the king cobra in 4 countries and territories across Asia. Wikidata gives its range as: People's Republic of China.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the king cobra endangered?

The king cobra’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Vulnerable” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the king cobra?

The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is a reptile in the order Squamata and the family Elapidae, genus Ophiophagus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the king cobra

The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is a species complex of snakes endemic to Asia. With an average length of 3.18 to 4 m (10.4 to 13.1 ft) and a record length of 5.85 m (19.2 ft), it is the world's longest venomous snake and among the heaviest. Under the genus Ophiophagus, it is not phylogenetically a true cobra despite its common name and some resemblance. Spanning from the Indian subcontinent through Southeastern Asia to Southern China, the king cobra is widely distributed albeit not commonly seen.

Individuals have diversified colouration across its habitats, from black with white strips to unbroken brownish grey, although after taxonomic re-evaluation, it is no longer the sole member of its genus but is now a species complex; these differences in pattern and other aspects may cause the genus to be split into at least four species, spread across its large geographic range.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article King cobra (revision 1380854581), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q48186 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).