Reptiles · Squamata · Elapidae

Eastern Coral Snake

Micrurus fulvius

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The eastern coral snake is the only dangerous elapid in the eastern United States, ringed in red, yellow and black. It spends most of its time buried in the leaf litter and is responsible for very few bites. Its pattern has given rise to one of the most frequently cited examples of mimicry in biology and to a famous rhyme.

Weight

682 g on average

Size

60 cm – 1.2 m

Lifespan

12 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

Temperate forestGrasslandCarnivore Diurnal Solitary Reptile Temperate forest Grassland

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Fun facts

Its pattern is copied by several harmless snakes, and in North America children are taught the rhyme "red touches yellow, kills a fellow; red touches black, friend of Jack", according to whether the red and yellow rings touch: it works in the United States but fails in the American tropics, where there are dozens of different patterns.
Its fangs are short and fixed, and it needs to chew in order to inject its venom, so many defensive bites are dry or deliver very little.
It spends most of its life buried in the leaf litter and under logs, and comes to the surface only after rain or in the cool hours of dawn.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (reptile)
Habitat & environment: Sandy pine woods, scrub, leaf litter and woodland edges of the south-eastern United States
Sexual maturity: 2 years
Gestation / incubation: 70 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 7 eggs

Sources consulted: https://www.iucnredlist.org/ | https://animaldiversity.org/ | https://es.wikipedia.org/