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. 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.
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.
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.
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.Eastern Coral Snake (Micrurus fulvius) , Savannah River Ecology Library. 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. 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.Coral Snakes: Colors, Bites, Farts & Facts , Live Science. The neurotoxic venom takes time to reach full effect, affecting the nervous system and weakening the muscles.
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.
Reproduction The breeding season occurs from spring to early summer and late summer to early fall. 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.
Old World
Genus Calliophis Species in this genus are: Calliophis beddomei (M.A. Smith, 1943) – Beddome's coral snake (India) Calliophis bibroni (Jan, 1858) – Bibron's coral snake (India) Calliophis bilineatus Calliophis bivirgatus (F. Boie, 1827) – blue Malaysian coral snake (Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand) Calliophis castoe E.N. Smith, Ogale, Deepak & Giri, 2012 – Castoe's coral snake (India) Calliophis gracilis (Gray, 1835) – spotted coral snake (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore) Calliophis haematoetron E.N. Smith, Manamendra-Arachchi & Somaweera, 2008 – blood-bellied coral snake (Sri Lanka) Calliophis intestinalis (Laurenti, 1768) – banded Malaysian coral snake (Indonesia, Malaysia) Calliophis maculiceps (Günther, 1858) – speckled coral snake (Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos) Calliophis melanurus (Shaw, 1802) – Indian coral snake (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka) Calliophis nigrescens (Günther, 1862) – black coral snake (India) Calliophis nigrotaeniatus Calliophis philippinus Calliophis salitan R.M. Brown, Smart, Leviton & E.N. Smith, 2018 – Dinagat Island Banded Coralsnake (Philippines) Calliophis suluensis
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: Hemibungarus calligaster (Wiegmann, 1835) – barred coral snake (Philippines) Hemibungarus gemianulis W. Peters, 1872 – (Philippines) Hemibungarus mcclungi
Genus Sinomicrurus
Species in this genus are: Sinomicrurus annularis Sinomicrurus boettgeri Sinomicrurus iwasakii Sinomicrurus japonicus (Günther, 1868) – Japanese coral snake (Ryukyu Islands) Sinomicrurus kelloggi (Pope, 1928) – Kellogg's coral snake (Vietnam, Laos, China) Sinomicrurus macclellandi (J.T. Reinhardt, 1844) – Macclelland's coral snake (India, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan) Sinomicrurus peinani Sinomicrurus sauteri (Steindachner, 1913) (Taiwan) Sinomicrurus swinhoei
New World
Genus Micruroides Micruroides euryxanthus (Kennicott, 1860) – Arizona coral snake (lowland regions from Arizona to Sinaloa, Mexico) Micruroides euryxanthus australis Zweifel & Norris, 1955 Micruroides euryxanthus euryxanthus (Kennicott, 1860) Micruroides euryxanthus neglectus Roze, 1967
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.
Micrurus albicinctus Amaral, 1925 – white-banded coral snake Micrurus alleni K.P. Schmidt, 1936 – Allen's coral snake (eastern Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama) Micrurus alleni alleni K.P. Schmidt, 1936 Micrurus altirostris (Cope, 1860) (Brazil, Uruguay, and northeastern Argentina) Micrurus ancoralis Jan, 1872 – regal coral snake (southeastern Panama, western Colombia, and western Ecuador) Micrurus ancoralis ancoralis Jan 1872 Micrurus ancoralis jani K.P. Schmidt, 1936 Micrurus annellatus (W. Peters, 1871) – annellated coral snake (southeastern Ecuador, eastern Peru, Bolivia, and western Brazil) Micrurus annellatus annellatus (W. Peters, 1871) Micrurus annellatus balzanii (Boulenger, 1898) Micrurus annellatus bolivianus Roze, 1967 Micrurus averyi K.P. Schmidt, 1939 – black-headed coral snake Micrurus baliocoryphus (Cope, 1860) – Mesopotamian coral snake Micrurus bernadi (Cope, 1887) (Mexico) Micrurus bocourti (Jan 1872) – Ecuadorian coral snake (western Ecuador to northern Colombia) Micrurus bogerti Roze, 1967 – Bogert's coral snake (Oaxaca) Micrurus boicora Bernarde, Turci, Abegg & Franco, 2018 – boicora coral snake Micrurus brasiliensis Roze, 1967 – Brazilian short-tailed coral snake Micrurus browni K.P. Schmidt & H.M. Smith, 1943 – Brown's coral snake (Quintana Roo to Honduras) Micrurus browni browni K.P. Schmidt & H.M. Smith, 1943 Micrurus browni importunus Roze, 1967 Micrurus browni taylori K.P. Schmidt & H.M. Smith, 1943 Micrurus camilae Renjifo & Lundberg, 2003 (Colombia) Micrurus catamayensis Roze, 1989 – Catamayo coral snake (Catamayo Valley of Ecuador) Micrurus clarki K.P. Schmidt, 1936 – Clark's coral snake (southeastern Costa Rica to western Colombia) Micrurus collaris (Schlegel, 1837) – Guyana blackback coral snake (northern South America) Micrurus collaris collaris (Schlegel, 1837) Micrurus collaris breviventris Roze & Bernal-Carlo, 1987 Micrurus corallinus (Merrem, 1820) – painted coral snake Micrurus decoratus (Jan 1858) – Brazilian coral snake Micrurus diana Roze, 1983 – Diana's coral snake Micrurus diastema (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854) – variable coral snake Micrurus diastema aglaeope (Cope, 1859) Micrurus diastema alienus (F. Werner, 1903) Micrurus diastema affinis (Jan 1858) Micrurus diastema apiatus (Jan 1858) Micrurus diastema diastema (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854) Micrurus diastema macdougalli Roze, 1967 Micrurus diastema sapperi (F. Werner, 1903) Micrurus dissoleucus (Cope, 1860) – pygmy coral snake Micrurus dissoleucus dissoleucus (Cope, 1860) Micrurus dissoleucus dunni Barbour, 1923 Micrurus dissoleucus melanogenys (Cope, 1860) Micrurus dissoleucus nigrirostris K.P. Schmidt, 1955 Micrurus distans (Kennicott, 1860) – West Mexican coral snake Micrurus distans distans (Kennicott, 1860) Micrurus distans zweifeli Roze, 1967 Micrurus diutius Burger, 1955 – Trinidad ribbon coral snake Micrurus dumerilii (Jan 1858) Micrurus dumerilii antioquiensis K.P. Schmidt, 1936 Micrurus dumerilii carinicaudus K.P. Schmidt, 1936 Micrurus dumerilii colombianus (Griffin, 1916) Micrurus dumerilii dumerilii (Jan 1858) Micrurus dumerilii transandinus K.P. Schmidt, 1936 Micrurus dumerilii venezuelensis Roze, 1989 Micrurus elegans (Jan 1858) – elegant coral snake Micrurus elegans elegans (Jan 1858) Micrurus elegans veraepacis K.P. Schmidt, 1933 Micrurus ephippifer (Cope, 1886) – Oaxacan coral snake Micrurus ephippifer ephippifer (Cope, 1886) Micrurus ephippifer zapotecus Roze, 1989 Micrurus filiformis (Günther, 1859) – slender coral snake Micrurus filiformis filiformis (Günther, 1859) Micrurus filiformis subtilis Roze, 1967 Micrurus frontalis (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854) – southern coral snake (Brazil to northeastern Argentina) Micrurus frontalis frontalis (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854) Micrurus frontalis mesopotamicus Barrio & Miranda, 1967 Micrurus fulvius (Linnaeus, 1766) – eastern coral snake (U.S. coastal plains of North Carolina to Louisiana) Micrurus hemprichii (Jan 1858) – Hemprich's coral snake, orange-banded coral snake Micrurus hemprichii hemprichii (Jan 1858) Micrurus hemprichii ortoni K.P. Schmidt, 1953 Micrurus hemprichii rondonianus Roze & Silva, 1990 Micrurus hippocrepis (W. Peters, 1862) – Mayan coral snake Micrurus ibiboboca (Merrem, 1820) – Caatinga coral snake Micrurus isozonus (Cope, 1860) – Venezuela coral snake Micrurus langsdorffi (Wagler, 1824) – Langsdorff's coral snake Micrurus laticollaris (W. Peters, 1870) – Balsan coral snake Micrurus laticollaris laticollaris (W. Peters, 1870) Micrurus laticollaris maculirostris Roze, 1967 Micrurus latifasciatus K.P. Schmidt, 1933 – broad-ringed coral snake Micrurus lemniscatus (Linnaeus, 1758) – South American coral snake (most of low-lying areas of South America) Micrurus lemniscatus carvalhoi Roze, 1967 Micrurus lemniscatus frontifasciatus (F. Werner, 1927) Micrurus lemniscatus helleri K.P. Schmidt & F.J.W. Schmidt, 1925 Micrurus lemniscatus lemniscatus (Linnaeus, 1758) Micrurus limbatus Fraser, 1964 – Tuxtlan coral snake Micrurus limbatus limbatus Fraser, 1964 Micrurus limbatus spilosomus Pérez-Higareda & H.M. Smith, 1990 Micrurus margaritiferus Roze, 1967 – speckled coral snake Micrurus medemi Roze, 1967 – Villavicencio coral snake Micrurus meridensis (Roze, 1989) – Mérida coral snake Micrurus mertensi K.P. Schmidt, 1936 – Merten's coral snake Micrurus michoacanensis Micrurus mipartitus (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854) – redtail coral snake Micrurus mipartitus anomalus (Boulenger, 1896) Micrurus mipartitus decussatus (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron, & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854) Micrurus mipartitus mipartitus (A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854) Micrurus mipartitus semipartitus (Jan 1858) Micrurus mosquitensis Schmidt, 1933 – Mosquito coral snake Micrurus multifasciatus (Jan 1858) – many-banded coral snake Micrurus multifasciatus multifasciatus (Jan 1858) Micrurus multifasciatus hertwigi (F. Werner, 1897) Micrurus multiscutatus Rendahl & Vestergren, 1940 – Cauca coral snake Micrurus narduccii (Jan, 1863) – Andean blackback coral snake Micrurus narduccii narduccii (Jan 1863) Micrurus narduccii melanotus (W. Peters, 1881) Micrurus nattereri (Schmidt, 1952) – Natterer's coral snake Micrurus nebularis Roze, 1989 – cloud forest coral snake