Coral snakes

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Coral snake
Eastern coral snake (Micrurus fulvius)
Eastern coral snake (Micrurus fulvius)
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Serpentes
Superfamily: Elapoidea
Family: Elapidae

Coral snakes are a large group of elapid snakes that can be divided into two distinct groups, the Old World coral snakes and New World coral snakes. There are 27 species of Old World coral snakes, in three genera (Calliophis, Hemibungarus, and Sinomicrurus), and 83 recognized species of New World coral snakes, in two genera (Micruroides and Micrurus). Phylogenetic studies suggest that the group originated in the Old World.[1][2] While new world species of both genera are venomous, their bites are seldom lethal; as of 2018, only two confirmed fatalities had been documented in the United States in the preceding 100 years from the genus Micrurus. Meanwhile, snakes of the genus Micruroides have never caused a medically significant bite.[3]

Eastern coral snake (Micrurus fulvius)

Distribution

New World coral snakes (genera Micruroides and Micrurus) range from the Southern United States to Argentina. Old World coral snakes (genera Calliophis, Hemibungarus, and Sinomicrurus) live in Asia and Africa.[4]

Coral snake showing typically reclusive behavior of hiding under rotting wood. This one was over 75 cm (30 in) long, but less than 25 mm (1 in) across.

Behavior

Coral snakes vary widely in their behavior, but most are very elusive, fossorial (burrowing) snakes which spend most of their time buried beneath the ground or in the leaf litter of a rainforest floor, coming to the surface only when it 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.

Coral snakes feed mostly on smaller snakes, lizards, frogs, nestling birds, small rodents, etc. Tropical species of coral snakes from more mesic areas have a broader diet, feeding on elongate prey like eels and caecilians.[5]

Like all elapid snakes, coral snakes possess a pair of small hollow fangs to deliver their venom. The fangs are positioned at the front of the mouth.[6][7] The fangs are fixed in position rather than retractable, and rather than being directly connected to the venom duct, they have a small groove through which the venom enters the base of the fangs.[8][9] Because the fangs are relatively small and inefficient for venom delivery, rather than biting quickly and letting go like vipers, coral snakes tend to hold onto their prey and make chewing motions when biting.[10][8][11] The neurotoxic venom takes time to reach full effect, affecting the nervous system and weakening the muscles.[12][9]

Coral snakes are not aggressive or prone to biting and account for less than one percent of the total number of snake bites each year in the United States. The life span of coral snakes in captivity is about seven years.[13]

Reproduction

The breeding season occurs from spring to early summer and late summer to early fall.[14] A study investigating how climate influences the reproductive cycle discovered that coral snake species with ranges occurring closer to the equator display more continuous reproductive cycles, while species in colder regions display more seasonal cycles.[15]

Old World

Genus Calliophis

Species in this genus are:

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Calliophis.

Genus Hemibungarus

Species in this genus are:

Genus Sinomicrurus

Species in this genus are:

New World

Genus Micruroides

Genus Micrurus

Nota bene: In the following list, a binomial authority or a trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Micrurus.

Mimicry

New World coral snakes serve as models for their Batesian mimics, false coral snakes, snake species whose venom is less toxic, as well as for many nonvenomous snake species that bear superficial resemblances to them. Research shows that coral snake color patterns deter predators from attacking snake-shaped prey,[16][17] and that in the absence of coral snakes, species mimicking coral snakes are indeed attacked more frequently.[18] Species that appear visually similar to coral snakes include:

References

  1. Slowinski, J.B.; Keogh J.S. (April 2000). "Phylogenetic Relationships of Elapid Snakes Based on Cytochrome b mtDNA Sequences". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 15 (1): 157–164. Bibcode:2000MolPE..15..157S. doi:10.1006/mpev.1999.0725. PMID 10764543.
  2. Slowinski, J.B.; Boundy, J.; Lawson, R. (June 2001). "The phylogenetic relationships of Asian coral snakes (Elapidae: Calliophis and Maticora) based on morphological and molecular characters". Herpetologica. 57 (2): 233–245. JSTOR 3893186.
  3. Greene, Spencer C.; Folt, Jason; Wyatt, Kimberly; Brandehoff, Nicklaus P. (July 2021). "Epidemiology of fatal snakebites in the United States 1989-2018". The American Journal of Emergency Medicine. 45: 309–316. doi:10.1016/j.ajem.2020.08.083. PMID 33046301. S2CID 222320580.
  4. "Coral snake | Diet, Size, Rhyme, & Facts | Britannica". Britannica. 6 April 2026. Retrieved 12 May 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. Greene, Harry (1 May 1973). "The Food Habits and Feeding Behavior of New World Coral Snakes". Biology Theses.
  6. Eastern Coral Snake (Micrurus fulvius) Archived 31 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Savannah River Ecology Library.
  7. "Coral Snakes: Rear fanged? Grooved fangs? Primitive?". Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 24 June 2015.
  8. "Eastern Coral Snake". Archived from the original on 9 January 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2008.
  9. "Coral Snakes: Micrurus f. fulvius". Archived from the original on 29 September 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2009.
  10. Wood, A. (2013). "Review of Eastern coral snake (Micrurus fulvius fulvius) exposures managed by the Florida Poison Information Center Network". Clinical Toxicology. 51 (8): 783–788. doi:10.3109/15563650.2013.828841. PMID 23962099.
  11. Coral Snakes: Colors, Bites, Farts & Facts Archived 24 June 2015 at the Wayback Machine, Live Science.
  12. Hessel, Matthew M.; McAninch, Scott A. (13 March 2023). "Coral Snake Toxicity". StatPearls. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 21 April 2025.
  13. "Eastern Coral Snake". Animals national Geographic. 10 September 2010. Archived from the original on 9 August 2016. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
  14. Chapman, Shannon. "Micrurus fulvius (Eastern Coral Snake, Harlequin Coralsnake)". Animal Diversity Web. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  15. Marques, Otavio A.V.; Pizzatto, Lígia; Santos, Selma M. Almeida (March 2013). "Reproductive Strategies of New World Coral Snakes, Genus Micrurus". Herpetologica. 69 (1): 58–66. doi:10.1655/herpetologica-d-12-00091. ISSN 0018-0831. S2CID 86499469.
  16. Brodie III, Edmund D (1993). "Differential avoidance of coral snake banded patterns by free-ranging avian predators in Costa Rica". Evolution. 47 (1): 227–235. doi:10.2307/2410131. JSTOR 2410131. PMID 28568087.
  17. Brodie III, Edmund D.; Moore, Allen J. (1995). "Experimental studies of coral snake mimicry: do snakes mimic millipedes?". Animal Behaviour. 49 (2): 534–6. Bibcode:1995AnBeh..49..534B. doi:10.1006/anbe.1995.0072. S2CID 14576682.
  18. Pfennig, David W.; Harcombe, William R.; Pfennig, Karin S. (2001). "Frequency-dependent Batesian mimicry". Nature. 410 (6826): 323. Bibcode:2001Natur.410..323P. doi:10.1038/35066628. PMID 11268195. S2CID 205015058.

Further reading

  • Boulenger, G.A. (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ) .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I–XXV. (Elaps, 28 species, pp. 411–433 + Plate XX).
  • Roze, J.A. (1996). Coral Snakes of the Americas: Biology, Identification, and Venoms. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. xii + 328 pp., 38 maps, 63 color photographs, 49 color pattern drawings. ISBN 978-0894648472.
  • Tanaka, G.D.; Furtado MD, F.D.; Portaro, F.C.V.; Sant'Anna, O.A.; Tambourgi, D.V. (2010). "Diversity of Micrurus Snake Species Related to Their Venom Toxic Effects and the Prospective of Antivenom Neutralization". PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases 4 (3): e622. doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000622
  • Universidad de Costa Rica (2009). El envenenamiento por mordedura de serpiente en Centroamérica ("Snakebite poisonings in Central America"). San José, Costa Rica: Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica. (in Spanish).