Description: The Texas coral snake has the traditional coloration associated with coral snakes: black, yellow, and red rings. These rings extend onto their belly. It is capable of growing to 48 inches in total length (including tail), but most are closer to 24 inches. Males are typically smaller than females. It has smooth dorsal scales, a rounded head, and the eyes have round pupils. Albinistic (lacking black pigment) and anerythristic (lacking red pigment) specimens have been found in the wild. "Pastel" (pink, translucent cream, and very light blue) coloration has been noted, and completely black (melanistic) specimens, are known. The Texas coral snake is somewhat larger (longer and stouter) than the eastern coral snake (Micrurus fulvius), and has a somewhat larger venom yield.
Habitat: Habitats are varied and include mixed pine and hardwood forests, subtropical thorn scrub, tall-grass prairie, and riparian woodlands in otherwise dry areas. In Louisiana and Arkansas, this snake inhabits forested areas. In Texas, habitats include rocky creek banks and canyons of oak-juniper brakes, live oak woodland, thornbrush chaparral of the coastal plain, sandy grass-mesquite, Cross Timbers woodland-thickets, and pine-hardwood forest; also gardens, wooded lots, and undeveloped parklands in cities; habitat is generally partially wooded and has organic ground litter. In western Texas and northern Tamaulipas, this snake usually is found near watercourses and in vegetation along temporary streams. In northern Mexico, this snake occurs in mesquite-grassland, thorn forest, and desert; in southern Tamaulipas, it reaches 900 m asl in oak savanna; at the south end of the range it is apparently restricted to high elevations in pine-oak forest and mesquite-grassland. This snake is often underground, under leaf-litter, logs or stumps, or similarly secluded. Eggs probably are laid in loose soil or decaying organic matter, or underground or under leaf-litter or surface objects.
Range: M. tener ranges from the southern United States south to northeastern and central Mexico. It inhabits the states of Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas, and the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Querétaro and Morelos.
Venom: Texas coral snake venom is a powerful neurotoxin, causing neuromuscular dysfunction. Until 2006, no deaths from coral snake bites had been reported since the 1970s in the United States; however, rare, fatal bites have occurred, according to several scientific journals in the 1980s and 1990s. Because of the low profits, the production of coral snake antivenin has been discontinued for several years. Prior to the availability of antivenin, the fatality rate of coral snake envenomations has been estimated at 10%, and death was primarily due to respiratory or cardiovascular failure as a result of paralysis induced by the neurotoxic venom.
A coral snake (genus Micrurus) is proteroglyphous, meaning it has a pair of deeply grooved, semihollow, chisel-shaped, fixed fangs in the front of its upper jaw, through which the venom is injected and encouraged via a chewing motion. Coral snakes do not necessarily need to bite and hold on for a brief time to deliver a significant amount of venom. They expel venom quickly during extraction into collection media in the lab. Severe envenomations have occurred after a quick bite. Many bites from coral snakes do not inject any venom at all (known as a dry bite). A bite from any coral snake should be considered an extremely serious medical emergency, and medical treatment should be sought immediately, because symptoms of envenomation are known to sometimes delay manifestation for as long as 24 hours, but once present, often progress very rapidly.
Diet: The primary diet of M. tener consists of other snakes, primarily earth snakes, and other small fossorial species. It is cannibalistic. It also occasionally eats small lizards, but the consumption of rodents by coral snakes is rare.
Reproduction:M. tener is oviparous.
Status: Listed as Least Concern because it is widespread, common and there are no major threats to the species at present.
Subspecies: Five, with just one in our region:
Guanajuato Coral Snake - (Micrurus tener fitzingeri)
Tampico Coral Snake - (Micrurus tener maculatus)
Spotted Coral Snake - (Micrurus tener microgalbineus)
Tamaulipas Coral Snake - (Micrurus tener tamaulipensis) Texas Gulf-Coast Coralsnake - (Micrurus tener tener)
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Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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