Coral Snake

Coral Snakes are one distinct variety of snakes. These snakes can be divided into two distinct groups: Old World Coral Snakes and New World Coral Snakes. But how to distinguish one from another? As the old phrase goes “red on yellow, kill a fellow; red on black, venom lack” — this is how you spot a venomous and a non-venomous coral snake. Here you will learn a lot about Coral Snakes including their types, feeding habits, reproduction, and how venomous each of these types is.

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Coral snakes are a large and distinct group of elapid snakes that is subdivided into two distinct groups: Old World Coral Snakes and New World Coral Snakes. There are around 16 species of Old-World coral snake in three genera - Calliophis, Hemibungarus, and Sinomicrurus. There are over 65 recognized species belonging to the New World. These coral snakes in two genera are – Micruroides and Micrurus. Genetic studies have found that the most basal lineages are Asian, which indicates the group which originated in the Old World. 

Taxonomy Classification

• Kingdom - Animalia

• Subkingdom - Bilateria

• Infrakingdom - Deuterostomia

• Phylum - Chordata

• Subphylum - Vertebreta 

• Infraphylum - Gnathostomata

• SuperClass - TetraPoda

• Class - Reptelia Laurenti

• Order - Squamata Oppel

• Suborder - Serpentes Linnaeus

• Infraorder - Alethinophedia Nopcsa

• Family - Elapidae

• Subfamily - Elapinae

• Genus - Micrurus Wagler ( American Coral Snake)

• Species - Micrurus Fulvius (Northern Coral Snake)

Habitat of Coral Snakes 

The New World coral snakes exist in the southernmost range of many of the temperate USA states. The Coral snakes are found in the scattered localities in the southern coastal plains from North Carolina to Louisiana, this includes all of Florida. These snakes can be found in pine and scrub oak sandhill habitats in the parts of this range, but also sometimes they inhabit the hardwood areas and in the pine Flatwoods which undergo seasonal flooding. 

• Quite Controversial

There is a striking controversy about the classification of the quite similar Texas Coral Snake as a separate species. The habitat in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas are separated from the eastern coral snake's habitat which resides by the Mississippi River. The coral snake population is most dense in the south-eastern parts of the United States, but the coral snakes have been documented as far north as in the Kentucky region. 

• Where Are Arizona Coral Snakes Found? 

Arizona Coral snake is classified as another separate species and a genus which is found in central and in southern Arizona, this is extreme to southwestern New Mexico and southward to the Sinaloa which is in western Mexico. This occupies the arid and the semiarid regions in many different habitat types, these also include regions in thorn-scrub, desert-scrub, grassland, woodland and farmland. They are found in the plains and the lower mountain slopes from sea level to 5,800 feet (which is approximately 1,768 m) and are often found in rocky areas. 

Venom and Fangs – Danger to Humans

The New World coral snakes possess one of the most potent venoms in the North American snake. However, lesser snake bites are recorded due to their solidarity nature and the fact they generally inhabit sparsely populated areas. 

The American National Institutes of Health says that an average of 15–25 coral snake bites happen in the United States each year. When confronted by humans, generally coral snakes will attempt to flee, and they bite only as a last resort. In addition to this, coral snakes have short fangs which actually cannot penetrate the thick leather clothing. While, if there is a skin penetration, then a medical emergency is required immediately. The powerful neurotoxin present in their venom paralyzes the breathing muscles, this often requires mechanical or artificial respiration and it may also require a large dose of antivenom to save the life of the victim. Usually, there is only mild pain that is associated with a bite, it causes respiratory failure which can occur within hours after the bite.

Behavioural Pattern of Coral Snakes

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Coral snakes have distinguished behaviour, but mostly they are very elusive, they are (burrowing) snakes that spend most of their time buried underneath the ground or in the leaf litter of a rainforest floor. They come up to the surface only when it rains or during the time they breed. Some species, like Micrurus surinamensis, are entirely aquatic and they spend most of their lives in their slow-moving bodies of water, where they have dense vegetation.

What Do They Feed On?

Coral snakes feed majorly on - smaller snakes, lizards, nestling birds, frogs, small rodents, etc.

Like all other elapid snakes, the coral snakes possess a pair of small hollow fangs in order to deliver their venom. The fangs are positioned at the front of their mouth. The fangs are fixed in position to a small groove through which the venom enters the base of their fangs. As the fangs are relatively small and are inefficient for venom delivery, they are rather biting quickly and letting go (like the vipers), the coral snakes tend to hold onto their own prey and they make chewing motions when they bite. The venom does take time to reach its full effect. 

Types Of Coral Snakes

1. Eastern Coral Snake

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The scientific name of the eastern coral snake is ‘Micrurus fulvius’. They are commonly known as the ‘eastern coral snake’ while simply called a coral snake. They are also known as American cobras. This species is highly venomous in the family of Elapidae. The species is endemic or wide found in the south-eastern United States. Eastern Coral Snake is quite common to Scarlet Snakes, which are only harmless mimics.

• Style or Pattern of the Eastern Coral Snake

Eastern Coral Snake is generally less than 80 cm (which is 31 in) in total length (with their tail). The maximum reported total lengths are 121.8 cm (which is 48.0 in). The male snakes have a longer tail than the female snakes, but females have a greater total length. 

The dorsal scale is smooth, there are 15 rows at the midbody. While the ventral scales numbers are 197-217 in males and 219–233 in the case of females. There are approximately 40 - 47 subcaudals in males and females there are 30 - 37 subcaudals. The Anal plate of the snake is divided.  

The colour pattern consists of a series of rings that encircle their body. There are wide red and black rings being separated by narrow yellow rings. Their head is black from the rostral scale to behind their eyes.

• What Other Names to be Called?

Among many common names of the eastern coral snake, popular are these-  

1. American cobra

2. Candy-stick snake

3. Coral adder

4. Common coral snake

• Where do they thrive?

Eastern Coral Snakes are mostly found in the upland mesophytic and the tropical hammocks of Florida. They also occur in the glade land, in high pine, in the scrub oak and also in the live oak hammock, slash pine and in the wiregrass Flatwoods. In the southern side of Georgia and Florida, they are also found in dry areas with open ground with bushy lightly vegetated areas. They are also situated in the sandy ridges of Mississippi and sandy in the creek bottoms of Louisiana. 

• What Do They Feed on?

Eastern Coral Snake eats lizards, frogs, and smaller other snakes, these include other coral snakes too. 

• Their Little Ones

Female eastern coral snakes lay three to 12 eggs in the month of June that hatch in the month of September. 

• How Dangerous is Their Venom?

The venom of the eastern coral snake is a potent neurotoxin. Envenomation causes rapid paralysis and even respiratory failure in their prey. In humans, the symptoms include slurred speech, double vision, and muscular paralysis eventually leading to respiratory failure. Eastern Coral Snakes bites and their fatalities are very rare. 

The snakes have a mortality rate which is between 5–20%. The most recent fatality caused by the eastern coral snake occurred in the year 2006. The victim failed to seek proper medical attention and died several hours after the snake bite, this became the first fatality caused by the Eastern Coral snake after over 40 years. 

2. Texas Coral Snake

The Texas coral snake has the traditional colouration that is associated with coral snakes: they are of black, yellow, and red rings. They are capable of growing to about 48 in. (which is 122 cm) in total length (which is including tail), but most of them are closer to 24 in. (which is 61 cm). The male Texas coral snake is typically smaller than the female Texas coral snake. They too have smooth dorsal scales and have round heads, and their eyes have round pupils. The Texas coral snake is moreover longer and stouter compared to the eastern coral snake, and also, they have somewhat larger venom than the eastern coral snake.

• Geographic Range

Texas Coral snake is found on the ranges starting from the southern United States to the north-eastern and in Central Mexico. The Texas Coral Snake inhabits in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tamaulipas, San Luis, Potosi and other regions.  

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• Behavioural Pattern 

Basically, all coral snakes are shy and secretive, typically nocturnal in nature. They spend most of their time hiding beneath leaf litter, under the logs. 

If you grab a Texas Coral snake suddenly, or if you only touched them, they might thrash and swing around, they might also bite. At times, they are calm, and then suddenly swing around and bite, for no real reason. 

• Diet of Texas Coral Snakes

The primary diet of Texas Coral Snakes consists of other snakes, primarily the earth snakes and other small fossorial animals. They are cannibalistic and thus they occasionally eat small lizards. While Texas Coral Snakes consume rodents rarely.

• Reproduction

Texas Coral Snake is Oviparous. This means they lay eggs and give birth to their young ones after the eggs hatch. 

• Venom

The venom of the Texas Coral Snake is a powerful neurotoxin that leads to neuromuscular dysfunction. Until the year 2006, there were no deaths recorded from coral snake bites in the United States. However, rare, but fatal bites have occurred according to several scientific journals in the later '80s and '90s.

3. Arizona Coral Snake

Arizona Snakes belong to the Squamata Family which comes under the Elapidae group (they are the fixed front-fang venomous snakes).

• Other Common Names of Arizona Snakes

They are popularly known as:

1. Western coral snake

2. In Spanish, they are known as Corallilo

• Distinguishing Features

The Arizona coral snake has a slender feature. They are particularly small in size which reaches only 13 to 21 inches (which is 33-53 cm) in length. They are brightly coloured with broad alternating bands of red and black colours, which are being separated by the narrower bands of bright white or yellow. These bands completely encircle their body, but they appear paler on the belly. The head is black till behind their eyes. The snout is also blunt.

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• Range

The Arizona coral snake is found in central and southern Arizona. They are extreme southwestern New Mexico and southward to the Sinaloa in western Mexico.

• Habitat

This snake occupies the arid and semiarid regions in many different habitat types, which include thorn-scrub, desert-scrub, grassland, woodland and farmland. They are found in the plains and lower mountain slopes from sea level to about 5800 feet (which is about 1768 m). They are often found in rocky areas.

• What Do They Feed On?

The Arizona coral snake primarily feeds on blind and black-headed snakes. While they occasionally eat lizards or other small, smooth-scaled snakes.

• Secretive Nature of Arizona Snakes 

Arizona Snakes are of secretive nature. They usually emerge after sundown. It also remains active on days when the sky is over-casted. If they are disturbed it will bury its head in its coils, elevate and then wave its tightly coiled tail, and evert its anal lining by making a popping sound. 

• When Do They Lay Eggs?

Arizona Coral Snakes lay two or three eggs during the summertime.

4. Coral Reef Snake

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Sea snakes are known as coral reef snakes. They belong to a subfamily of venomous elapid snakes, called the Hydrophiinae. They inhabit marine environments for the majority or all of their lives. Most of these snakes have fully aquatic life and they unable to move on land, except for the genus Laticauda, which can move limitedly. These snakes are found in the warm coastal waters from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific and they are closely related to the venomous terrestrial snakes in Australia.

5. Calliophis Bibroni

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Calliophis bibroni are popularly known as the Bibron's coral snake. They are the species of venomous snake that belong to the Elapidae family. These species are native to India.  

6. Indian Coral Snake

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Calliophis melanurus — they are the Indian Coral snake that is found in the Indo-Malayalam realm. They have sexual reproduction and their reproduction is dioecious.  Indian Sea snakes or the coral reef snakes are called Hydrophiinae and they have adapted to fully aquatic life. They are found in the coastal waters from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.

There are other species of Indian Coral Snake sparsely thriving in the Indian region.

Did You Know?

• Coral Snakes save themselves from their predator by this technique -   

• The tail and the head of the coral snakes are somewhat similar, so when they are vulnerable to threats, they simply coil themselves up to confuse the predators. 

• The venom produced by the Coral snakes is the second strongest venom in the world. 

• The baby coral snakes are as venomous as their parents since the first day of their birth. 

• In India, there are only seven coral snake species. According to a statement by a researcher, Abhijit Das, the coral snake was recently rediscovered (30th June 2021) in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district, which is at an elevation of 870 metres.

To sum up, the Coral Snakes are dangerous but less dangerous than a rattlesnake. Although the venom of the coral snake can slowly but steadily affect the respiratory system if the proper medication is not attended to. Want to keep it as a pet? A big NO. These snakes will not purr rather they will give you venomous fangs.