The king cobra is a species of large venomous snake endemic to the Asian countries of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, China, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. Despite its name and appearance, the king cobra is not a true cobra, but is instead the sole member of the genus Ophiophagus a sister clade to the cobra genus Naja. King Cobras are solitary diurnal creatures which inhabit forests, bamboo groves, mangrove swamps, and agricultural areas where they feed primarily upon other snakes but are also known to occasionally feed upon birds, small mammals, and lizards. King cobras are themselves occasionally killed and eaten by mongooses, honey badgers, certain birds of prey, and other king cobras. Reaching an average length of 9-13ft (2.75- 4m) with the largest known individual being 19.2ft (5.85m) long, the king cobra is the largest venomous snake on earth. The king cobra is not considered aggressive and usually avoids humans and slinks off when disturbed, but is known to aggressively defend incubating eggs and attack intruders rapidly. When alarmed, it raises the front part of its body, extends the hood, shows the fangs and hisses loudly. The king cobra's venom consists of cytotoxins and neurotoxins, including alpha-neurotoxins and three-finger toxins, which affect the victim's central nervous system, resulting in severe pain, blurred vision, vertigo, drowsiness, and eventually paralysis and cardiovascular collapse. As such bites from this species are medically significant and may result in a rapid fatality (less than 30 minutes) unless large quantities of antivenom are administrated. Breeding typically occurs from march to may, after mating the female will build a complex chambered nest out of leaf litter where see then lays 7 to 43 eggs. Which she then incubates for some 66 to 105 days. Under ideal conditions a king cobra may live around 20 years.
