King cobra taxonomy Kingdom - Animalia Phylum - Chordate Subphylum - Vertebrate (having a spine or backbone) Class - Reptiles Order - Squamata (snakes & lizards) Suborder - Serpentes (snakes) Family - Elapidae (includes cobras; kraits; mambas; coral snakes; Australian taipan and tiger snakes) Genus - Ophiophagus (means “snake eating” and refers to the snake eating snakes in India which include the King cobra) Species - Ophiophagus hannah (the king cobra, himself)