Eastern Coral Snake |

Eastern Coral Snake

Eastern Coral Snake ~ Micrurus fulvius

Genus: Micrurus

Species: fulvius

Adult body length: 20 - 30 inches

Body length at birth: 7 - 8 inches

Breeding period: June - July

Young per year: 2 to 3 young per year

Typical foods: Other snakes, lizards, and insects

Habitat: sandy areas, dark wooded areas, rotten logs, damp areas

Can be found: from Eastern Texas to North Carolina, south thoughout Florida, then back again to Texas

Short description: No neck, rounded head, slender body, rounded scales, rounded pupils

General description:

The Eastern Coral snake is a venomous snake.

It is a burrowing snake which makes it rarely

seen. Its extremely toxic venom attacks the

nervous system and causing paralysis. The

Eastern Coral snakes body is ringed of red,

yellow, and black, with the yellow rings

separating the red and black ones. For this

reason they are commonly mistaken as the

non-venomous Scarlet Kingsnake and milksnake

whose body is ringed with red, yellow, and black

rings, with black separating the red and yellow

ones. Help for discerning these snakes is this

rhyme as written:

Red on Yellow, Kill a Fellow,

Red on Black, Venom Lack.

This rhyme above is a great way to discern these

snakes. Remeber this, all Coral snakes have black

noses while thier mimics have a redish color. Below

is a rhyme that is the best way to tell a Coral snake

from its mimic.

If the nose is Black,

Get Back!

______Coral Snake_____________Scarlet Kingsnake_____

May 09 2007 09:33 pm