1.15.2008

Eastern Coral Snake

An unexpected treat in early January (I still forget that I'm in the deep south), I got to see my first Eastern Coral Snake (Micrurus fulvius) at work. Stuff like that really makes my day.



Some of the coral snake mimics have similar red/yellow/black bands seen from above, but those patterns are often broken on the belly. Here, you can see how the bands continue on the belly.


Not the best photo, but it does show some of the beauty of the snake's color and form.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did you know that their fangs are too small to pierce your skin? Yeah, so no need to worry about getting bit by a coral snake.

Kelly said...

Unfortunately for the people who've been killed by coral snakes, their fangs are quite capable of piercing our skin. As far as I know, only one drunk guy has died from a coral snake bite since coral snake antivenin became available.