Snake Bite FAQ

Kyoto: Hiking from Kibune to Kurama

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It is useful to be able to identify the dangerous species of snakes. However it is not always easy. Coral snakes are probably the easiest to properly identify, they are small (usually no more than about 30 inches long, sometimes up to 40 inches), thin, brightly colored, and have small heads. They can be distinguished from the nonvenomous king snake and other harmless mimics by the presence of adjacent red and yellow bands. Milk snakes, king snakes, and the other mimics have adjacent red and black bands:

Red touch yellow - kill a fellow
Red touch black - venom lack.

Another mnemonic is to think of a traffic light. If red is adjacent to yellow, stop!

There are two species, the Arizona coral snake (Micruroides euryxanthus) and the eastern coral snake (Micrurus fulvius).

Arizona Coral Snake

Description: 13-21 inches. Blunt-snouted and glossy, with alternating wide red, wide black, and narrow yellow or white rings encircling the body. Head uniformly black to angle of jaw. Scales smooth, in 15 rows. Anal plate divided.

Habitat: Rocky areas, plains to lower mountain slopes; rocky upland desert especially in arroyos and river bottoms; sea level to 5900 feet.

Range: C. Arizona to southwest New Mexico south to Sinaloa, Mexico.

This snake emerges from a subterranean retreat at night, usually during or following a warm shower. When disturbed by a predator, it buries its head in its coils, raises and exposes the underside of its tail, and may evert its cloacal lining with a popping sound. Eats blind snakes, other small snakes.

Eastern Coral Snake

Description: 22-47 inches. Body encircled by wide red and black rings separated by narrow yellow rings. Head uniformly black from tip of blunt snout to just behind eyes. Red rings usually spotted with black. Scales smooth and shiny in 15 rows. Anal plate divided.

Habitat: Moist, densely vegetated hammocks near ponds or streams in hardwood forests; pine flatwoods; rocky hillsides and canyons.

Range: Southeast North Carolina to south Florida and Key Largo, west to south Texas and Mexico.

Usually seen under rotting logs or leaves or moving on surface in early morning or late afternoon. Feeds on small snakes or lizards.