How to Identify the Redtail Coral Snake (Identification Guide)

Key identifying features

The Redtail Coral Snake (Micrurus mipartitus) is a slender, highly venomous elapid identified by its bold black-and-white bicolor banding along most of the body, combined with a bright red or orange-red tail and head region that stands in sharp contrast to the rest of the pattern. This combination of black-and-white body rings with a vivid red tail is distinctive among coral snakes.

Coloration & pattern

Most of the body is patterned in alternating black and white (or pale bluish-white) rings without red in the main band sequence, an unusual trait since many coral snakes include red bands throughout the body. The head and tail, however, are a striking red or orange-red, creating a marked contrast with the black-and-white middle section of the body.

Head, eyes & scales

The head is small, rounded, and not distinct from the neck, typical of coral snakes and unlike the broad, triangular heads of pit vipers. Eyes are small with round pupils, difficult to see against the dark head coloration. Scales are smooth and glossy across the body.

Size & body shape

Adults typically range from 20 to 32 inches, with a slender, cylindrical body of relatively uniform width and a short tail relative to overall length.

Range & habitat where you'll see it

The Redtail Coral Snake is found in Central and northern South America, including Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. It inhabits humid lowland and montane forests, often found in leaf litter, under logs, or in similar moist forest floor microhabitats.

How to tell it apart from look-alikes

This species is distinguished from most other coral snakes by the absence of red bands along the main body, having black-and-white rings instead, paired with a solid red head and tail. This is a notably different pattern from the classic red-yellow-black banded coral snakes of North America, so relying on general 'coral snake' band rules from other regions is unreliable here. Nonvenomous mimics in its range typically lack the sharply contrasting solid red head and tail combined with black-and-white body rings, making this combination a useful identifying feature.