Coral snake
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Over 65, see article. |
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 coral snakes. There are three genera among New World coral snakes that consist of over 65 recognized species. Taxonomic classification is ongoing, so literature may vary depending on the source.
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[edit] Description
Coral snakes are most notable for their red, yellow, and black colored banding. Several nonvenemous species have similar coloration, however, including the Scarlet Kingsnake and the Milk Snake. In some regions, the order of the bands distinguishes between the non-venomous mimics and the venomous coral snakes, inspiring some folk rhymes — Red touching yellow kills a fellow; Red touching black is a friend of Jack, Red on yellow, kill a fellow; Red on black, venom lack, or Red and yellow, kill a fellow; Red and black, poison lack. Actually, this only applies to Micrurus fulvius and Micrurus tener, found in the south and eastern United States. Coral snakes found in other parts of the world can have distinctly different patterns, and can even have red bands touching black bands, have only red and black banding, or have no banding at all.
Most species of coral snake are small in size. North American species average around 24" in length, but specimens of up to 35" or slightly larger are not unheard of. South American species can get much larger. They are thin bodied snakes, with a head the same width as the body, small eyes, and a rounded snout. Aquatic species have flattened tails, to act as a fin, aiding in swimming.
[edit] Behavior
Coral snakes vary widely in their behavior, but most are very secretive, fossorial snakes which spend the vast majority of their time buried in the ground or in 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 take effect, 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 a single 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.
[edit] Venom
Due to the small size of coral snakes, along with their having much smaller fangs than pit vipers, bites are frequently ineffective and have some difficulty penetrating shoes or even thick clothing. This along with the fact that coral snakes are not aggresive creatures and reclusive makes bites quite rare. However, coral snakes are highly venomous, being the only relative of the cobra found in the New World. Despite their relatively small size, their venom is a powerful neurotoxin, quite capable of killing an adult human. Any bite from a coral snake should be considered life threatening and immediate treatment should be sought. Often there is very little reaction around the bite area, as opposed to the pain and swelling usually associated with a viper bite, and systemic effects can delay manifestation for 8-24 hours. This potential delay in symptoms makes treating coral snake bites particularly tricky, and often results in preventative treatment whether one is displaying symptoms or not. Once the neurotoxin takes effect, it causes the neurotransmitters between the brain and muscles to malfunction. Initially symptoms are slurred speech, double vision, difficulty swallowing, but can quickly progress to muscular paralysis, and even respiratory or cardiac failure if not treated.[1]
Wyeth manufactures a North American coral snake antivenom, also Instituto Bioclon manufactures an antivenin for coral snake species found in Mexico. A third type of antivenin is manufactured in Brazil to treat bites from some coral snake species found there. Unfortunately, no one antivenin is effective against all coral snake envenomations, and due to the relative rarity of bites from coral snakes and high cost of the antivenom, few hospitals stock it.
[edit] Diet
Most species of coral snakes are ophiophagous, feeding primarily on other, smaller species of snakes, but they will often also consume lizards, and infrequently, small rodents. Aquatic species are known to be specialists in feeding on freshwater eels, but sometimes will also consume knifefish. Coral snake venom is much stronger than is generally considered necessary to subdue their typical prey items.
[edit] Taxonomy
Genus Leptomicrurus:
- Guyana Blackback Coral Snake, Leptomicrurus collaris - northern South America.
- Andean Blackback Coral Snake, Leptomicrurus narduccii
Genus Micruroides:
Genus Micrurus:
- Allen's Coral Snake, Micrurus alleni - eastern Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama.
- Micrurus altirostris (Cope, 1860) - Brazil, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina.
- Regal Coral Snake, Micrurus ancoralis - southeastern Panama, western Colombia, and western Ecuador
- Annellated Coral Snake, Micrurus annellatus - southeastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, Bolivia, and western Brazil.
- 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 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
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- 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)
- Pigmy Coral Snake, Micrurus dissoleucus
- West Mexican Coral Snake, Micrurus distans
- Micrurus dumerilii
- Elegant Coral Snake, Micrurus elegans
- Oaxacan Coral Snake, Micrurus ephippifer
- Slender Coral Snake, Micrurus filiformis
- 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
- 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
- Balsan Coral Snake, Micrurus laticollaris
- Broad-ringed Coral Snake, Micrurus latifasciatus (Schmidt, 1933)
- South American Coral Snake, Micrurus lemniscatus - most of low lying areas of South America.
- Tuxtlan Coral Snake, Micrurus limbatus
- Speckled Coral Snake, Micrurus margaritiferus (Roze, 1967)
- Micrurus medemi (Roze, 1967)
- Mertens' Coral Snake, Micrurus mertensi (Schmidt, 1936)
- Redtail Coral Snake, Micrurus mipartitus
- Many-banded Coral Snake, Micrurus multifasciatus
- 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
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- 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
- 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)
- Amazon Coral Snake, Micrurus spixii
- Panamenian Coral Snake, Micrurus stewarti (Barbour & Amaral, 1928)
- Stuart's Coral Snake, Micrurus stuarti (Roze, 1967)
- Aquatic Coral Snake, Micrurus surinamensis
- Micrurus tamaulipensis (Lavin-Murcio & Dixon, 2004) - Sierra Madre Oriental in Tamaulipas.
- Texas Coral Snake, Micrurus tener - Texas and Louisiana south to Morelos and Guanajuato.
