Ophiophagus Günther, 1864

Das, Indraneil, Shankar, P. Gowri, Swamy, Priyanka, Williams, Rhiannon C., Lalremsanga, Hmar Tlawmte, Prashanth, P., Sahoo, Gunanidhi, Vijayakumar, S. P., Höglund, Jacob, Shanker, Kartik, Dutta, Sushil K., Ganesh, S. R. & Wüster, Wolfgang, 2024, Taxonomic revision of the king cobra Ophiophagus hannah (Cantor, 1836) species complex (Reptilia: Serpentes: Elapidae), with the description of two new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 961 (1), pp. 1-51 : 34-35

Key to the species of Ophiophagus Günther, 1864

1. More than 17 pterygoid tooth sockets; light body bands present at all ages,>1.5 scales wide, with dark edges in most adults .......................................................................... O. hannah ( Cantor, 1836)

– 12 or fewer pterygoid tooth sockets, body bands not as above ........................................................ 2

2. Pale body bands always present, fewer than 55,>1.5 scales wide; <90 subcaudals ......................... .......................................................................... O. kaalinga Gowri Shankar, Das & Ganesh sp. nov.

– Body bands absent or narrow (<1 scale wide), more than 55; often>90 subcaudals ..................... 3

3. Juveniles with 57–87 regular narrow light body bands, adults with faint narrow bands or unpatterned ......................................................................................... O. bungarus ( Schlegel, 1837)

– Juveniles with>80 often irregular, highly angular narrow light bands, adults always without pale bands ................................................................ O. salvatana Gowri Shankar, Das & Wüster sp. nov.