can deliver a large quantity of highly potent venom in a single bite. It is one of the most dangerous and feared Asiatic snakes.
The king cobra is a large and powerful snake, averaging 3.6–4 m (12–13 feet) in length and typically weighing about 6 kg (13.2 lb). A particularly large specimen was kept captive at the London Zoo, and grew to 5.7 m (18.8 ft) before being euthanized upon the outbreak of World War II.[3] Despite their large size, king cobras are fast and agile.
The skin of this snake is either olive-green, tan, or black, and it has faint, pale yellow cross bands down the length of the body. The belly is cream or pale yellow, and the scales are smooth. Juveniles are shiny black with narrow yellow bands (can be mistaken for a banded krait, but readily identified with its expanded hood). The head of a mature snake can be quite massive and bulky in appearance, though like all snakes, they can expand their jaws to swallow large prey items.
The king cobra is the sole member of genus Ophiophagus, while most other cobras are members of the genus Naja. They can be identified from other cobras by size and hood marks. King cobras are larger than other cobras, and the stripe on the neck is like the symbol "^" instead of a double or single eye(s) shape that may be seen in most of the other cobras. A foolproof method of identification if the head is clearly visible is the presence of a pair of large scales known as occipitals, at the back of the top of the head.
