coral snake

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Coral Snakes
Coral snake (Micrurus sp.)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Elapidae
Genus:	Leptomicrurus Calliophis Micrurus Micruroides
Species
See text.

The coral snakes are a large group of elapid snakes that can be divided into two distinct groups: New World coral snakes and Old World Calliophis snakes. There are three genera among New World coral snakes that consist of over 65 recognized species.

North American Coloration Patterns

Coral snakes are most notable for their red, yellow/white, and black colored banding. (Several nonvenomous species have similar coloration, however, including the Scarlet Kingsnake, the Milk Snake, and the Chionactis occipitalis annulata). In some regions, the order of the bands distinguishes between the non-venomous mimics and the venomous coral snakes, inspiring some folk rhymes — "Red on yellow, kill a fellow; red on black, friend of Jack", "Red on Yellow Kills a Fellow, Red on Black, Venom Lack," and "Red on yellow kills a fellow; red on black, pat it on the back" or "if red touches yellow, you're a dead fellow (for Coral Snakes); if red touches black, you're okay, Jack (for similar looking Milk Snakes)". However, this only reliably applies to coral snakes native to North America: Micrurus fulvius (Eastern or common), Micrurus tener (Texas), and Micruroides euryxanthus (Arizona), found in the southern and eastern United States. Coral snakes found in other parts of the world can have distinctly different patterns, have red bands touching black bands, have only pink and blue banding, or have no banding at all.

Most species of coral snake are small in size. North American species average around 3 feet (91 cm) in length, but specimens of up to 5 feet (150 cm) or slightly larger have been reported. Aquatic species have flattened tails, to act as a fin, aiding in swimming.

Behavior

Coral snake showing typically reclusive behavior of hiding under rotting wood. This one was over 30 inches long, but less than an inch across.

Coral snakes vary widely in their behavior, but most are very elusive, fossorial snakes which spend the vast majority of their time buried beneath the ground or in the leaf litter of a rainforest floor, only coming to the surface during rains or during breeding season. Some species, like Micrurus surinamensis are almost entirely aquatic and spend most of their lives in slow-moving bodies of water that have dense vegetation.

Like all elapid snakes, coral snakes use a pair of small fangs, which are fixed in the front of their top jaw, to deliver their venom. Due to the time it takes for the venom to take effect,^[1]

Coral snakes have a tendency to hold on to a victim when biting, unlike vipers which have retractable fangs and tend to prefer to strike and let go immediately. Coral snakes are not aggressive or prone to biting however, and account for less than one percent of the number of snake bites each year in the United States. Most coral snake bites occur because of accidental handling of the snake while engaged in an activity like gardening.

Distribution

Distribution in the United States.

Eastern Coral Snake, Micrurus fulvius

New World coral snakes exist in the southern range of many temperate U.S. states.

Coral Snakes are found in scattered localities in the southern Coastal Plain from North Carolina to Louisiana, including all of Florida. They can be found in pine and scrub oak sandhills habitats in parts of this range but sometimes inhabit hardwood areas and pine flatwoods that undergo seasonal flooding.^[2]

There is controversy about the classification of the very similar Texas coral snake as a separate species. Its habitat, in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas, is separated from the eastern habitat by the Mississippi River. The map here shows the denser population in the southeast United States but coral snakes have been spotted as far north as Kentucky.^[3]

The Arizona coral snake, clearly a separate species, is found in central and southern Arizona, extreme southwestern New Mexico and southward to Sinaloa in western Mexico. It occupies arid and semiarid regions in many different habitat types including thornscrub, desert-scrub, woodland, grassland and farmland. It is found in the plains and lower mountain slopes from sea level to 5800 feet (1768 m); often found in rocky areas. ^[4]

Danger to humans

New World coral snakes possess the second most potent venom of any North American snake, behind some rattlesnake species. However, few bites are recorded due to their reclusive nature and the fact they generally inhabit sparsely populated areas. When confronted by humans, coral snakes will almost always attempt to flee, and bite only as a last resort. In addition, coral snakes have short fangs (proteroglyph dentition) that cannot penetrate thick leather clothing. Any skin penetration, however, is a medical emergency that requires immediate attention. Coral snakes have a powerful neurotoxin that paralyzes the breathing muscles; mechanical or artificial respiration, along with large doses of antivenom, are often required to save a victim's life. There is usually only mild pain associated with a bite, but breathing difficulties and ptosis can occur within hours.

Taxonomy

Old World

Genus Calliophis

Wikispecies has information related to: Calliophis

New World

Genus Leptomicrurus

• Guyana Blackback Coral blaaaa Leptomicrurus collaris - northern South America.

• Leptomicrurus collaris collaris (Schlegel, 1837)
• Leptomicrurus collaris breviventris (Roze & Bernal-Carlo, 1987)

• Andes/Andean Blackback Coral Snake, Leptomicrurus narduccii

• Leptomicrurus narduccii narduccii (Jan, 1863)
• Leptomicrurus narduccii melanotus (Peters, 1881)

Genus Micruroides

Wikispecies has information related to: Micruroides

• Arizona Coral Snake, Micruroides euryxanthus - lowland regions from Arizona to Sinaloa.

• Micruroides euryxanthus australis (Zweifel & Norris, 1955)
• Micruroides euryxanthus euryxanthus (Kennicott, 1860)
• Micruroides euryxanthus neglectus (Roze, 1967)

Genus Micrurus

Wikispecies has information related to: Micrurus

• Allen's Coral Snake, Micrurus alleni - eastern Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.

• Micrurus alleni alleni (Schmidt, 1936)
• Micrurus alleni richardi (Taylor, 1951)
• Micrurus alleni yatesi (Taylor, 1954)

• Micrurus altirostris (Cope, 1860) - Brazil, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina.
• Regal Coral Snake, Micrurus ancoralis - southeastern Panama, western Colombia, and western Ecuador

• Micrurus ancoralis jani (Schmidt, 1936)
• Micrurus ancoralis ancoralis (Jan, 1872)

• Annellated Coral Snake, Micrurus annellatus - southeastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, Bolivia, and western Brazil.

• Micrurus annellatus annellatus (Peters, 1871)
• Micrurus annellatus balzanii (Boulenger, 1898)
• Micrurus annellatus bolivianus (Roze, 1967)

• Black-headed Coral Snake, Micrurus averyi (Schmidt, 1939)
• Micrurus bernadi (Cope, 1887) - Mexico.
• Ecuadorian Coral Snake, Micrurus bocourti (Jan, 1872) - western Ecuador to northern Colombia,
• Bogert's Coral Snake, Micrurus bogerti (Roze, 1967) - Oaxaca.
• Brown's Coral Snake, Micrurus browni - Quintana Roo to Honduras.

• Micrurus browni browni (Schmidt & Smith, 1943)
• Micrurus browni importunus (Roze, 1967)
• Micrurus browni Taylori (Schmidt & Smith, 1943)

• Micrurus camilae (Renjifo & Lundberg, 2003) - Colombia.
• Catamayo Coral Snake, Micrurus catamayensis (Roze, 1989) - Catamayo Valley of Ecuador.
• Clark's Coral Snake, Micrurus clarki (Schmidt, 1936) - southeastern Costa Rica to western Colombia.
• Painted Coral Snake, Micrurus corallinus (Merrem, 1820)
• Brazilian Coral Snake, Micrurus decoratus (Jan, 1858)
• Micrurus diana (Roze, 1983
• Variable Coral Snake, Micrurus diastema

• Micrurus diastema diastema (Duméril, Bibron, & Duméril, 1854)
• Micrurus diastema aglaeope (Cope, 1859)
• Micrurus diastema alienus (Werner, 1903)
• Micrurus diastema affinis (Jan, 1858)
• Micrurus diastema apiatus (Jan, 1858)
• Micrurus diastema macdougalli (Roze, 1967)
• Micrurus diastema sapperi (Werner, 1903)

• Pygmy Coral Snake, Micrurus dissoleucus

• Micrurus dissoleucus dissoleucus (Cope, 1860)
• Micrurus dissoleucus dunni (Barbour, 1923)
• Micrurus dissoleucus melanogenys (Cope, 1860)
• Micrurus dissoleucus meridensis (Roze, 1989)
• Micrurus dissoleucus nigrirostris (Schmidt, 1955)

• West Mexican Coral Snake, Micrurus distans

• Micrurus distans distans (Kennicott, 1860)
• Micrurus distans michoacanensis (Duges, 1891)
• Micrurus distans oliveri (Roze, 1967)
• Micrurus distans zweifeli (Roze, 1967)

• Micrurus dumerilii

• Micrurus dumerili antioquiensis (Schmidt, 1936)
• Micrurus dumerili carinicaudus (Schmidt, 1936)
• Micrurus carinicauda (Schmidt, 1936)
• Micrurus dumerili colombianus (Griffin, 1916)
• Micrurus dumerili transandinus (Schmidt, 1936)
• Micrurus dumerili venezuelensis (Roze, 1989)

• Elegant Coral Snake, Micrurus elegans

• Micrurus elegans elegans (Jan, 1858)
• Micrurus elegans veraepacis (Schmidt, 1933)

• Oaxacan Coral Snake, Micrurus ephippifer

• Micrurus ephippifer zapotecus (Roze, 1989)
• Micrurus ephippifer ephippifer (Cope, 1886)

• Slender Coral Snake, Micrurus filiformis

• Micrurus filiformis filiformis (Günther, 1859)
• Micrurus filiformis subtilis (Roze, 1967)

• Southern Coral Snake, Micrurus frontalis - Brazil to northeastern Argentina.

• Micrurus frontalis frontalis (Duméril, Bibron, & Duméril, 1854)
• Micrurus frontalis brasiliensis (Roze, 1967)
• Micrurus frontalis mesopotamicus (Barrio & Miranda 1967)

• Bolivian Coral Snake, Micrurus frontifasciatus (Werner, 1927)
• Eastern Coral Snake, Micrurus fulvius (Linnaeus, 1766) - coastal plains of North Carolina to Louisiana
• Hemprich's Coral Snake, Micrurus hemprichii

• Micrurus hemprichii hemprichii (Jan, 1858)
• Micrurus hemprichii ortoni (Schmidt, 1953)
• Micrurus hemprichii rondonianus (Roze & Da Silva^{[disambiguation needed]}, 1990)

• Mayan Coral Snake, Micrurus hippocrepis (Peters, 1862)
• Caatinga Coral Snake, Micrurus ibiboboca (Merrem, 1820)
• Venezuela Coral Snake, Micrurus isozonus (Cope, 1860)
• Langsdorff's Coral Snake, Micrurus langsdorffi

• Micrurus langsdorffi langsdorffi (Wagler, 1824)
• Micrurus langsdorffi ornatissimus (Jan, 1858)

• Balsan Coral Snake, Micrurus laticollaris

• Micrurus laticollaris laticollaris (Peters, 1870)
• Micrurus laticollaris maculirostris (Roze, 1967)

• Broad-ringed Coral Snake, Micrurus latifasciatus (Schmidt, 1933)
• South American Coral Snake, Micrurus lemniscatus - most of low lying areas of South America.

• Micrurus lemniscatus lemniscatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
• Micrurus lemniscatus carvalhoi (Roze, 1967)
• Micrurus lemniscatus diutius (Burger, 1955)
• Micrurus lemniscatus frontifasciatus (Werner, 1927)
• Micrurus lemniscatus helleri (Schmidt & Schmidt, 1925)

• Tuxtlan Coral Snake, Micrurus limbatus

• Micrurus limbatus limbatus (Fraser, 1964)
• Micrurus limbatus spilosomus (Perez-Higaredo & Smith, 1990)

• Speckled Coral Snake, Micrurus margaritiferus (Roze, 1967)
• Micrurus medemi (Roze, 1967)
• Mertens' Coral Snake, Micrurus mertensi (Schmidt, 1936)
• Redtail Coral Snake, Micrurus mipartitus

• Micrurus mipartitus mipartitus (Duméril, Bibron, & Duméril, 1854)
• Micrurus mipartitus anomalus (Boulenger, 1896)
• Micrurus mipartitus decussatus (Duméril, Bibron, & Duméril, 1854)
• Micrurus mipartitus semipartitus (Jan, 1858)

• Many-banded Coral Snake, Micrurus multifasciatus

• Micrurus multifasciatus multifasciatus (Jan, 1858)
• Micrurus multifasciatus hertwigi (Werner, 1897)

• Cauca Coral Snake, Micrurus multiscutatus (Rendahl & Vestergren, 1940)
• Cloud Forest Coral Snake, Micrurus nebularis (Roze, 1989)
• Central American Coral Snake, Micrurus nigrocinctus - Yucatan and Chiapas to Colombia as well as western Caribbean islands

• Micrurus nigrocinctus babaspul (Roze, 1967)
• Micrurus nigrocinctus coibensis (Schmidt, 1936)
• Micrurus nigrocinctus divaricatus (Hallowell, 1855)
• Micrurus nigrocinctus mosquitensis (Schmidt, 1933)
• Micrurus nigrocinctus nigrocinctus (Girard, 1854)
• Micrurus nigrocinctus ovandoensis (Schmidt & Smith, 1943)
• Micrurus nigrocinctus wagneri (Mertens, 1941)
• Micrurus nigrocinctus yatesi (Dunn, 1942)
• Micrurus nigrocinctus zunilensis (Schmidt, 1932)

• Micrurus pacaraimae (Morata de Carvalho, 2002)
• Micrurus pachecogili (Campbell, 2000)
• Micrurus paraensis (Da Cunha & Nascimento, 1973)
• Peruvian Coral Snake, Micrurus peruvianus (Schmidt, 1936)
• Peters' Coral Snake, Micrurus petersi (Roze, 1967)
• Nayarit Coral Snake, Micrurus proximans (Smith & Chrapliwy, 1958)
• Carib Coral Snake, Micrurus psyches

• Micrurus psyches circinalis (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854)
• Micrurus psyches donosoi (Hoge, Cordeiro, & Romano, 1976)
• Micrurus psyches psyches (Daudin, 1803)

• Putumayo Coral Snake, Micrurus putumayensis (Lancini, 1962)
• Micrurus pyrrhocryptus (Cope, 1862)
• Micrurus remotus (Roze, 1987)
• Micrurus renjifoi (Lamar, 2003)
• Roatan Coral Snake, Micrurus ruatanus (Günther, 1895)
• Santander Coral Snake, Micrurus sangilensis (Nicéforo-Maria, 1942)
• Micrurus scutiventris (Hoge, & Romano-Hoge, 1966)
• Micrurus silviae Di-Bernardo et al., 2007
• Amazon Coral Snake, Micrurus spixii

• Micrurus spixii spixii (Wagler, 1824)
• Micrurus spixiii martiusi (Schmidt, 1953)
• Micrurus spixii obscurus (Jan, 1872)
• Micrurus spixii princeps (Boulenger, 1905)

• Micrurus spurelli (Boulenger, 1914)
• Steindachner's Coral Snake, Micrurus steindachneri

• Micrurus steindachneri steindachneri (Werner, 1901)
• Micrurus steindachneri orcesi (Roze, 1967)

• Panamanian Coral Snake, Micrurus stewarti (Barbour & Amaral, 1928)
• Stuart's Coral Snake, Micrurus stuarti (Roze, 1967)
• Aquatic Coral Snake, Micrurus surinamensis

• Micrurus surinamensis surinamensis (Cuvier, 1817)
• Micrurus surinamensis nattereri (Schmidt, 1952)

• Micrurus tamaulipensis (Lavin-Murcio & Dixon, 2004) - Sierra Madre Oriental in Tamaulipas.
• Texas Coral Snake, Micrurus tener - Texas and Louisiana south to Morelos and Guanajuato.

• Micrurus tener fitzingeri (Jan, 1858)
• Micrurus tener maculatus (Roze, 1967)
• Micrurus tener microgalbineus (Brown, & Smith, 1942)
• Micrurus tener tener (Baird, & Girard, 1853)

• Micrurus tricolor (Hoge, 1956)
• Desert Coral Snake, Micrurus tschudii (Jan, 1858)

• Micrurus tschudii olssoni (Schmidt & Schmidt, 1925)
• Micrurus tschudii tschudii (Jan, 1858)

Mimicry

New World coral snakes are known to mimic False coral snakes, snake species whose venom is less toxic. This is a rare example of Mertensian mimicry. Species of false coral snake include:

• Erythrolamprus aesculapii
• Erythrolamprus bizona
• Erythrolamprus ocellatus (AKA Tobago False Coral)
• Oxyrhopus petola
• Lampropeltis pyromelana
• Chionactis palarostris
• Lampropeltis triangulum multistrata
• Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides
• Lampropeltis triangulum amaura
• Lampropeltis triangulum gentilis
• Lampropeltis triangulum annulata
• Lampropeltis zonata
• Cemophora coccinea

Notes

External links

Coral Snake Website

• Media related to Calliophis at Wikimedia Commons

• Media related to Micrurus at Wikimedia Commons
• Coral snake images at CalPhotos

http://www.fda.gov/cber/safety/wyecor102808.htm