Head Scale
The main feature that distinguishes the king cobra from other
cobras is the possession of 11 large scales on the crown of its
head. Adults may be yellow, green, brown, or black.
The back is typically highlighted by yellowish or whitish crossbars
or chevrons, and the underside may display a single colour
that
may or may not be ornamented with bars.
The throat is light yellow or beige. Juvenile king cobras are smaller
and black. Hatchlings are about 45–55 cm (18–22 inches)
long and are black with yellow or white stripes.
Skin Scale
The king cobra's skin is olive green with black and white bands
on the trunk that converge to the head. The head is covered
by
15 drab coloured and black edged shields. The muzzle is rounded,
and the tongue black.
Fang
The king cobra's deadly fangs are almost 0.5 inches (8 to 10
millimeters) long. Because they are fixed to the upper jaw, they
have to be short. If they were longer, they would penetrate the floor
of its mouth. Angled back into the snake's mouth, the
fangs help
push the prey on its path to the stomach.
Diet
The king cobra’s diet consists largely of cold-blooded animals,
particularly other snakes. Unlike other snake species, king cobras
rarely hunt vertebrates like rodents and lizards. A king cobra may
develop a rigid diet of a single snake species and may refuse
any
other snake species.
They tend to eat larger harmless species like
Asian rat snakes and pythons up to 10 feet in length.
They may also eat venomous
Indian cobras and even small king
cobras.