Coral Snake

Quick Identificaiton

• “Red touches yellow, kills a fellow. Red touches black,  friend of Jack”
• Black snout
• Round pupils

The average length is 2 to 3 feet. The body is slender and cylindrical with a small head and tiny black eyes. This snake is brightly ringed with wide black and wide red bands, separated by narrow yellow bands. The red rings almost always have elements of black, especially in older snakes. The yellow and red bands are always side by side. Think of the red and yellow colors of a traffic light always being together. The scarlet kingsnake is a “mimic” which is harmless but derives some protection from attackers by resembling the deadly coral snake. In the harmless mimic however, the two warning colors are never in contact.

Coral snakes inhabit sandy pinewoods in the southeastern counties of Mississippi. They are secretive and generally uncommon, even rare. Specimens are usually active in the daytime and often turn up in yards and gardens of houses situated near suitable habitat. While deadly in nature, coral snakes inhabiting Mississippi are quite inoffensive.

They bite when touched, pinned down or purposely handled by uninformed people. Contrary to popular beliefs, the coral snake does indeed possess venom-conducting fangs. They do not have to chew on the victim in order to introduce the venom into the wound. A coral snake can open its mouth 180 degrees so it is not at all limited

to biting areas such as the earlobe or between the toes. And most importantly, while coral snake bites always represent a life and death situation, bites are not anywhere near 100% fatal to people.

Coral snakes feed on small snakes and to a lesser extent on lizards. One of several facts that separate coral snakes from the five pit vipers inhabiting our state is that of reproduction. Coral snakes lay eggs while our native pit vipers are livebearers.