Brazilian coral snake

Micrurus decoratus, more commonly referred to as the Brazilian Coral Snake is a member of Elapidae, a venomous snake family. The coral snake genus Micrurus contains about 50 different species. Micrurus decoratus is restricted to the Atlantic Forest of southeast Brazil.

Description

Micrurus decoratus have a triad color pattern with an external ring pattern that can vary among individuals. It is characterized by having black rings organized into 13-19 body triads. The black rings are shorter than the red and the first triad, at the neck, is incomplete. The central ring is typically the widest and they have an alternating pattern containing red, white, and black. Their color pattern is used to get the attention of predators, serving as a warning signal to indicate their venomous nature.
The average length of this species is around. Like all elapids, they possess proteroglyphous dentition and a rounded pupil shape.

Biology

Defensive behavior

M. decoratus and other Micrurus species possess similar defensive behaviors. The color pattern is used as the first warning signal that they are dangerous. If the predator continues, they display defensive moves such as tail exhibition and dorso-ventral body flattening. Tail behaviors could include moving it back and forth to try and deter predators. Dorso-ventral body flattening is when the organism will flatten its body from the top to bottom to make itself as flat and wide as possible. This gives the appearance that they are larger than they actually are, again as a defensive mechanism to intimidate predators.

Diet

Typically coral snakes feed on elongated vertebrates such as amphisbaenians, snakes, legless lizards, and caecilians. Due to M. decoratus' distribution being restricted to the Atlantic Forest of southeastern and southern Brazil, they were found to typically only prey on amphisbaenians and caecilians.