Predation of Brahminy Blind Snake (Indotyphlops braminus) by Common Krait (Bungarus caeruleus): near the Koshi Rivver, Eastern Bihar, India

Kraits have a diverse diet that includes small mammals, birds, lizards, and other snakes (Pandey et al. 2018).Snakes taken by Common Kraits include the Common Sandboa (Eryx conicus), Banded Racer (Platyceps plini), Saw-scaled Viper (Echis carinatus), Streaked Kukri Snake (Oligodon taeniolatus), and conspecifics (Mohalik and Kar 2019; Sahoo and Sahoo 2020; Kulkarni and Gurav 2022; Solanki and Khare 2022; Patel 2024).The fossorial and parthenogenetic Brahminy Blindsnake (Indotyphlops braminus) is native to southern Asia but has been introduced in many other parts of the world (e.g., Cogger 2014).At 1935 h on 11 July 2024, during the monsoon amphibian survey conducted near the Koshi River in Bihar, India, we observed a juvenile Common Krait (~30-35 cm total length) preying on a Brahminy Blindsnake (Fig. 1).The krait was at the edge of a grassy patch pulling the still-struggling blindsnake into denser vegetation.After about six minutes, during which the identities of both species were confirmed, the snakes were left undisturbed.Records of predation by ophiophagous snakes on fossorial species such as I. braminus are scarce.Brahminy Blindsnakes are commonly encountered in moist soil and leaf litter, where they feed primarily on ants and termites.This secretive lifestyle presumably keeps them concealed from most predators, suggesting that such encounters are opportunistic.Nevertheless, a Many-banded Krait (Bungarus multicinctus) was recorded preying on I. braminus in Taiwan (Mao et al. 2010) and a Brahminy Blindsnake was excreted from the cloaca of a Redbanded Snake (Lycodon rufozonatus) (Yang and Mori 2018).This observation expands the known prey spectrum of B. caeruleus to include small fossorial species like I. braminus and underscores the opportunistic feeding behavior of this species.