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.
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 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 and yellow, kill a fellow; red and black, friendly jack", and "Red and yellow, kill a fellow; red and black, venom lack". However, this only reliably applies to coral snakes in North America: Micrurus fulvius, Micrurus tener, and Micruroides euryxantus, found in the southern 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 pink and blue 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 60" or slightly larger have been reported. 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 elusive, 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 to 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] Taxonomy
Genus Leptomicrurus:
- Guyana Blackback Coral Snake, Leptomicrurus collaris - northern South America.
- Andes/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)
- Pygmy 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)
- Micrurus silviae Di-Bernardo et al., 2007
- 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.
[edit] Mimicry
New World coral snakes are known to mimic False coral snakes, snake species which are less poisonous. 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
