Characteristics Of The Dreaded Coral Snake
Typical of the tropics, coral snake species share their strong venom and striking colors. Come meet them!
Coral snakes are a venomous group whose habitat is the tropics. They are characterized by their colors, mainly red, black and yellow. We will talk about some species of coral snake in this article.
How many coral snakes are there?
Coral snakes are divided into two main groups: those from Europe (16 species and two genera, calliophis and sinomicrurus) and those from the American continent (73 species and three genera, Micrurus, Leptomicrurus and Micruroides). Among them, we can highlight:
1. Oriental coral snake
It can only be found in northeastern Mexico and the southeastern United States. In many cases, it is confused with the scarlet snake, which is harmless. Furthermore, it prefers areas of tropical jungle, forests and swamps.
The eastern coral snake – the photo that opens this article – measures about 80 centimeters and the pattern of its scales is composed of red and black rings, separated by narrow yellow rings. It feeds on lizards and small snakes, and its venom is lethal in 20% of cases.
2. Amazonian coral snake
It is another one of the coral snakes that belongs to the Micrurus family. However, it is bigger than the previous one: it measures about 1.2 meters in length.
The rings are mostly black and wide, with some interspersed in red and silver (the latter being thinner).
3. Coral snake from Central America
It is also a coral snake from Europe, as its range extends from southern Mexico to northern Colombia.
It is a nocturnal and twilight animal, very poisonous (the toxin it inoculates can be deadly to humans). However, it is not aggressive.
Although there are specimens over a meter long, most reach 65 centimeters.
The color pattern can be bicolor or tricolor, with red, black and yellow bands. It feeds on lizards, invertebrates and amphibians. In addition, during the day it hides in burrows or under logs and leaves.
4. Blue Malay Coral Snake
Now we turn to the Old World coral snakes. In this case, from Southeast Asia (Thailand, Singapore, Burma, Malaysia and Indonesia).
The Malay Blue Coral Snake is medium in size – it can reach 1.8 meters in length. In terms of colors, the head, belly and tail are red, while the rest varies between blue and black. Its venom destroys muscle tissue and can be deadly to humans.
5. MacClelland coral snake
The last of the coral snakes on this list is also native to Asia, but its range is wider: India, China, Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.
Her habits are nocturnal and she spends many hours of the day hidden under the leaves. Although it is poisonous, it is quite docile and does not usually attack unless it feels threatened.
The MacClelland coral snake is small – about 60 centimeters – and its body is thin, brown and reddish, with black lines and a white belly.
It is a nocturnal animal that feeds on lizards and small reptiles. If a person is bitten by this snake, they can die of immediate heart failure.
