Micrurus ornatissimus
| Micrurus ornatissimus | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae |
| Genus: | Micrurus |
| Species: | M. ornatissimus |
| Binomial name | |
| Micrurus ornatissimus (Jan, 1858) | |
 | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
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Micrurus ornatissimus, also known commonly as the ornate coral snake and la coral ornamentada in South American Spanish, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to northwestern South America.
Description
Micrurus ornatissimus is medium-sized for its genus. Adults usually have a total length (tail included) of 45–70 cm (18–28 in). The maximum recorded total length is 85 cm (33 in).[3]
Like many New World coral snakes, the color pattern consist of red, black, and white rings. The red rings are slightly wider than the black rings. The black rings are not arranged in triads. The number of black rings on the body is very variable, from 38 to 67. The white rings, which separate the red from the black, are reduced to series of pearly dots, each dot covering half a dorsal scale. The white rings are complete ventrally, each covering one ventral.[3]
Males have 201–211 ventrals and 47–52 subcaudals, and no supraanal tubercles. Females have 218–230 ventrals and 33–38 subcaudals.[3]
Geographic distribution
Specimens of Micrurus ornatissimus have been identified in regions of the Amazonian slopes of the Andes of southern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, and northern Peru.[1][2]
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat of Micrurus ornatissimus is forest, at elevations of 100–750 m (330–2,460 ft)[1]
Behavior
Micrurus ornatissimus is terrestrial, semi-fossorial, and nocturnal.[1]
Diet
Micrurus ornatissimus preys on snakes[1] such as blind snakes.[3]
Reproduction
Etymology
The specific name, ornatissimus, is Latin for "very ornate".[2]
The specific name of Boulenger's synonym, buckleyi, is in honor of Clarence Buckley (1839–1889) who collected over 10,000 biological specimens in Ecuador for the British Museum.[3][4]: 42
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 Gagliardi, G.; Gonzales, L.; Valencia, J. (2017). "Micrurus ornatissimus ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017 e.T44582007A44582012. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T44582007A44582012.en. Retrieved 26 August 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 Species Micrurus ornatissimus at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Roze, J.A. (1996). Coral Snakes of the Americas: Biology, Identification, and Venoms. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. ISBN 0-89464-847-0. xii + 328 pp., 38 maps, 63 color photographs, 49 color pattern drawings. (Micrurus ornatissimus, pp. 206–207 + Map 31 + Color 37).
- ↑ Beolens, B.; Watkins, M.; Grayson, M. (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. xiii + 296. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5.
Further reading
- Bernal, R. (2025). Serpientes de Colombia, Guía de Campo. Bogotá: Conservación Internacional Colombia. ISBN 978-628-96909-0-3. 396 pp. (Micrurus ornatissimus, pp. 100–101). (in Spanish).
- Boulenger, G.A. (1896). Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ), Amblycephalidæ, and Viperidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I–XXV. (Elaps buckleyi, new species, pp. 416–417 + Plate XXI, figure 1).
- Campbell, J.A.; Lamar, W.W. (1989). The Venomous Reptiles of Latin America. Ithaca, New York: Comstock Publishing Associates, a Division of Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0801420597. xiv + 430 pp., 568 figures, 109 distribution maps, 31 tables.
- Cunha, O.R.; Nascimento, F.P. (1982). "Ofídios da Amazônia: XVII – Revalidação de Micrurus ornatissimus (Jan, 1858) diferenciada de M. langsdorffi (Wagler, 1824) e distribuição geográfica das duas espécies (Ophidia: Elapidae)". Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Nova Série (116): 1–17. + Plates I–II. (in Portuguese, with an abstract in English).
- Freiberg, M. (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. 189 pp. (Micrurus lagsdorffi ornatissimus, p. 115).
- Jan, [G.] (1858). "Plan d'une Iconographie descriptive des Ophidiens, et Description sommaire de nouvelles espèces de Serpents". Revue et Magasin de Science Pure et Appliquée, Paris, 2e série. 10: 438–439, 514–527. (Elaps ornatissimus, new species, pp. 521–522). (in French).
- Lehr, E. (2002). Amphibien und Reptilien in Peru. Münster: Natur und Tier Verlag. ISBN 978-3931587680. 208 pp. (Micrurus ornatissimus, p. 205). (in German).
- Schmidt, K.P. (1936). "Preliminary Account of Coral Snakes of South America". Zoological Series of Field Museum of Natural History. 20 (19): 189–203. (Micrurus ornatissimus, new combination, p. 191).