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Trinidad Coral Snake (Micrurus circinalis)
Order: Squamata
Family: Elapidae (fixed front- fang venomous snakes)
Other common names: Trinidad coral snake, common coral, corail, coralsnake, male coral, small coral, serpent-corail, coral nortena trinitaria
Distinguishing Features
Small tricolored coral, adults usually 40 to 50 cm long (max. 53+ cm); body with black, white and red rings (21 to 31 black rings, sometimes as triads). Snout and chin mostly black, tail with 6 to 12 alternating wide black and narrow white rings.
Geographical Range
Limited to Trinidad, Gasparee Island, and adjacent Venezuela. One questionable early reference to specimens of this species from northern Guyana is still unconfirmed.
Habitat
Found mainly in tropical lowland forest and lower montane wet forest, old secondary growth, and agricultural areas.
Life History
Not much known. Probably mainly nocturnal, terrestrial (or fossorial - burrowing in loose soil or leaf litter), and oviparous (with less than 15 eggs in a clutch). Probably eats locally available lizards, invertebrates, and other smaller snakes.
Comments
Not much known, but probably mainly neurotoxic, like most coral snakes. Bites of humans by coral snakes usually are on a finger or toe, due to the snakes' small mouths, and usually only occur during attempts to catch or molest the snake.