science

Ophiophagus bungarus

Ophiophagus bungarus is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ophiophagus bungarus rather than just read about it. In short: Ophiophagus bungarus, the Sunda king cobra, is a species of king cobra that inhabits areas south of the Kra Isthmus or land bridge joining the Malay Peninsula with the rest of southeast Asia or Indochina. The countries it is found in include southern Thailand (deep south), western Malaysia, Singapore and offshore islands, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Bali, and some of the islands of the southern Philippines Archipelago.

Key takeaways

Ophiophagus bungarus belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ophiophagus bungarus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ophiophagus bungarus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Ophiophagus bungarus, the Sunda king cobra, is a species of king cobra that inhabits areas south of the Kra Isthmus or land bridge joining the Malay Peninsula with the rest of southeast Asia or Indochina. The countries it is found in include southern Thailand (deep south), western Malaysia, Singapore and offshore islands, Sumatra, Borneo, Java, Bali, and some of the islands of the southern Philippines Archipelago.

Description Large adult Ophiophagus bungarus generally lack bands, but some specimens may have narrow pale bands that lack dark edges along the body. Its dorsal scales range from brownish-yellow to mahogany, compared to the dark grey of O. kaalinga. Additionally, at the throat, there is little to no contrast between the ventral and dorsal scales. Juvenile O. bungarus have higher body band counts at 57–87 bands, compared to O. hannah and O. kaalinga at 27–48 and 28–48 respectively. However, it is less than Juvenile O. salvatana which has 85–86 body bands. They can reach 3.6 metres in length. O. bungarus also differs in having a lower pterygoid tooth count of 11, compared to O. hannah with 18–21.

Etymology The species name "bungarus" comes from the genus name of kraits. It may refer to the fact that, like kraits, it eats other snakes, or to their partially undivided subcaudals.

Conservation O. bungarus has not been reassessed since being split. Therefore, it shares the status of "Vulnerable" with the other king cobras.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ophiophagus bungarus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ophiophagus bungarus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ophiophagus bungarus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ophiophagus bungarus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ophiophagus bungarus

In research: Ophiophagus bungarus appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ophiophagus bungarus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ophiophagus bungarus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Elapidae, Elapidae stubs, Reptiles described in 1837, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ophiophagus bungarus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Ophiophagus bungarus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ophiophagus bungarus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ophiophagus bungarus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ophiophagus bungarus in simple terms?

Why does Ophiophagus bungarus matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ophiophagus bungarus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ophiophagus bungarus.