Redtail Coral Snake
Micrurus mipartitus
A slender coral snake distinguished by its black-and-white banded body ending in a strikingly reddish-orange tail.
- Adult length
- 0.5-0.9 m (1.6-3 ft)
- Range
- Central America and northern South America (Costa Rica to Ecuador and Venezuela)
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Overview
The redtail coral snake is a small, secretive elapid found in humid forests of Central and northern South America. It is best known for its unusual bicolor pattern: most of the body is ringed in black and white or pale bands, while the tail and sometimes the head are washed in bright orange-red, a pattern quite different from the classic tricolor rings of many other coral snakes.
Like all coral snakes, it is a secretive species rarely encountered by people.
How to identify it
- Body pattern of narrow black rings alternating with white or cream, lacking the red body rings typical of many congeners
- Tail and often the head region suffused with vivid orange to red coloration
- Smooth, glossy scales; cylindrical body typical of fossorial elapids
- Small, rounded head barely distinct from the neck; round pupils
- Separated from similarly patterned snakes by its short tail and lack of a robust triangular head
Habitat & range
Found in lowland and premontane humid forests from near sea level up to roughly 1,500 m elevation. It spends most of its time hidden under leaf litter, logs, and loose soil, emerging mainly at the surface during rain or at night.
Behavior, diet & reproduction
Primarily fossorial and nocturnal, rarely seen in the open. Feeds mainly on other snakes and elongate reptiles. Egg-laying, with reproductive habits still poorly documented due to its secretive lifestyle.
Frequently asked questions
What makes its coloration unusual?
Instead of full-body red rings, only the tail (and sometimes head) is red, with the rest of the body black and white banded.
Where does it live?
It is found in humid forests of Central America and northern South America.
What does it eat?
It preys mainly on other snakes and slender reptiles.
Redtail Coral Snake guides
In-depth guides for identifying and understanding Redtail Coral Snake.
