Science and Technology Desk: Scientists have been trying to unravel the mystery of the king cobra for 188 years. Finally they solved this mystery. Scientists now know that there are actually not one, but four different species of one of the world's most venomous snakes. For 188 years, the kingfisher was considered a single species, Ophiophagus hannah.

king cobra

But the body color and other physical characteristics of these snakes vary greatly in different regions. Because of this, scientists raised the question that is it really the same species?

In a study published in 2021, scientists confirmed genetic differences between different populations of pythons. Based on this study, scientists have now identified four distinct species by comparing the physical differences of museum specimens: the Northern King Kingfisher (O. hannah), the Sunda Kingfisherfish (Ophiophagus bungarus) , the Western Coastal Kingfisherfish (Ophiophagus kaalinga) and the Luzon Kingfisherfish (Ophiophagus salvatana). The paper was published in the 'European Journal of Taxonomy' on October 16.

"It feels like we've made history," said Gauri Shankar Pogiri, founder of India's Kalinga Foundation and director of the Kalinga Center for Rainforest Ecology, behind the discovery.

Kingfishers live in humid environments, such as open forests and dense mangroves, such as the Sundarbans, from northern India to southern China and throughout Southeast Asia. In these areas, changes in the color, pattern and shape of their bodies can be observed.

Building on this research, the new study examined physical differences in 153 museum specimens.

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By analyzing the specimens' body structure, their color patterns, body width and dental characteristics, they identified four species that matched the genetic lineage found in the 2021 study.