Description: M. fulvius is generally less than 31 inches in total length (including tail). The maximum reported total lengths are 48.0 inches for a specimen in Florida and 51.0 inches. Males have longer tails than females, but females reach a greater total length. The dorsal scales are smooth, and are in 15 rows at midbody. The ventral scales number 197–217 in males and 219–233 in females. There are 40–47 subcaudals in males and 30–37 in females. The anal plate is divided.

The color pattern consists of a series of rings that encircle the body: wide red and black rings separated by narrow yellow rings. The head is black from the rostral scale to just behind the eyes. The red rings are usually speckled with black. People who live in its natural range are often taught a folk rhyme as children such as: "Red next to black, safe from attack; red next to yellow, you're a dead fellow," or "Red touching black, friend of Jack; red touching yellow, you're a dead fellow", or simply "red and yellow kill a fellow". These rhymes are useful in teaching children to distinguish king snakes (Lampropeltis ssp.), which are considered helpful predators of vermin such as rats and mice, from the venomous coral snake, which should only be handled by an experienced biologist or herpetologist. However, this rhyme is only applicable to the United States species, and cannot be used reliably in the Caribbean, or Central or South America.

Habitat: M. fulvius occurs in upland mesophytic and tropical hammocks in Florida, as well as glade land, high pine, scrub oak and live oak hammock, slash pine and wiregrass flatwoods. In southern Georgia and Florida, it is found in dry areas with open ground that are bushy but not heavily vegetated. It is associated with sandy ridges in Mississippi and sandy creek bottoms in Louisiana. It is rarer in North and South Carolina, but is more typically found there in the scrub oak forests and pitch pine habitats near the coast, as well as the coastal plain of the southeast.

Range: M. fulvius is found in the Southeastern United States from southeastern North Carolina, south through South Carolina and peninsular Florida, and westward through southern Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi to southeastern Louisiana. Coral snakes in Texas, western Louisiana, and southeastern Arkansas are now considered to be a different species, Micrurus tener, which was previously considered a subspecies of M. fulvius. M. fulvius may be found at altitudes of near sea level to about 1,300 feet.

Found in these States: AL | FL | GA | LA | MS | NC | SC

Venom: The venom of M. fulvius is a potent neurotoxin with a median LD50 of 1.3 mg/kg SC. Envenomation causes rapid paralysis and respiratory failure in prey. In humans, symptoms include slurred speech, double vision, and muscular paralysis eventually leading to respiratory failure.

M. fulvius bites and fatalities are very rare. Only two documented fatalities were attributed to this species in the 1950s, and only one has been reported since Wyeth antivenin became available for it in the 1960s. The snakes have a mortality rate between 5–20% The most recent fatality attributed to the eastern coral snake occurred in 2006. The victim failed to seek proper medical attention and died several hours after being bitten, becoming the first fatality caused by M. fulvius in over 40 years.

M. fulvius does not account for many cases of snakebite in the U.S., with only about 100 bites each year. The snake is considered secretive and generally reluctant to bite (its venomous potential was still being debated in the 1880s), and envenomation (i.e., secretion of venom during a strike) is thought to occur in only 40% of all bites. Unlike New World pit vipers, this New World coral snake cannot control the amount of primarily neurotoxic venom injected. Dry bites often result from a near miss or deflection; although the venom an adult coral snake holds is enough to kill up to five adults, it cannot release all its venom in a single bite. Historically, however, the mortality rate was estimated to be about 10–20%, with death occurring in as little as one to two hours, or as much as 26 hours after the bite. This is not that surprising, since the LD100 for humans is estimated to be 4–5 mg of dried venom, while the average venom yield is 2–6 mg with a maximum of more than 12 mg. This is probably why current standard hospital procedure in the U.S. is to start with antivenin therapy for coral snake bites, even if no symptoms are found yet.

Diet: M. fulvius eats lizards, birds, frogs, fish, insects, and smaller snakes, including other coral snakes.

Reproduction: Females of M. fulvius are reported to lay three to 12 eggs in June that hatch in September. Neonates are 7.1–9.1 inches in length. Males mature 11–16 months after hatching while females mature approximately 26 months after hatching. Adult females are typically larger than males.

Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.

Taxonomy: