Micrurus spurrelli
| Micrurus spurrelli | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Elapidae |
| Genus: | Micrurus |
| Species: | M. spurrelli |
| Binomial name | |
| Micrurus spurrelli | |
 | |
| Synonyms[2] | |
| |
Micrurus spurrelli, also known commonly as the butterfly-head coral snake, the Colombian coral snake, and coral cabeza mariposa in South American Spanish, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is endemic to Colombia.[2]
Etymology
The specific name, spurrelli, is in honor of British zoologist Herbert George Flaxman Spurrell, who collected the holotype.[2][3]: 250
The specific name of a synonym, nicefori, is in honor of Brother Nicéforo María, who was both a priest and a herpetologist in Colombia.[4]
Description
Small for the genus Micrurus, adults of Micrurus spurrelli usually have a total length (tail included) of around 40 cm (16 in). The maximum recorded total length is 63 cm (25 in).[4]
The color pattern of M. spurrelli consists of alternating black rings and light-colored rings. Because this species is known from only a few preserved museum specimens, and because red and yellow pigments fade rapidly in alcohol, the actual color in life of the light-colored rings is unknown. The black rings are 3–4 dorsals and 2–4 ventrals wide, and the light-colored rings are 2 dorsals and 2–3 ventrals wide. There are 47–53 black rings on the body. On the top of the head, there is a black crossband, with sinuous anterior and posterior borders, which resembles a butterfly.[4]
Males have 234–241 ventrals and 35–37 subcaudals, and females have 252–267 ventrals and 26–30 subcaudals.[4]
Geographic distribution
Micrurus spurrelli is found in western Colombia, in Chocó Department.[1][2]
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat of Micrurus spurrelli is forest, at elevations of 100–400 m (330–1,310 ft).[1]
Behavior
Micrurus spurrelli is terrestrial.[1]
Reproduction
References
- 1 2 3 4 Bolívar, W.; Velasco, J.; Caicedo, J. (2017) [errata version of 2015 assessment]. "Micrurus spurrelli ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015 e.T44582083A115391134. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T44582083A44582088.en. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Species Micrurus spurrelli at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
- ↑ 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.
- 1 2 3 4 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 spurrelli, p. 218 + Map 37 + Pattern 47).
Further reading
- Bernal, R. (2025). Serpientes de Colombia, Guía de Campo. Bogotá: Conservación Internacional Colombia. ISBN 978-628-96909-0-3. 396 pp. (Micrurus spurrelli, pp. 98-99). (in Spanish).
- Boulenger, G.A. (1914). "On a second Collection of Batrachians and Reptiles made by Dr. H. G. F. Spurrell, F.Z.S., in the Choco, Colombia". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1914: 813–817. + Plates I–II. (Elaps spurrelli, new species, p. 817 + Plate II, figures 3, 3a, 3[b]).
- Campbell, J.A.; Lamar, W.W. (1989). Venomous Reptiles of Latin America. Ithaca, New York: Comstock Publishing Associates, a division of Cornall University Press. ISBN 978-0801420597. xiv + 430 pp., 568 figures, 109 distribution maps, 31 tables.
- Pérez-Santos, C.; Moreno, A.G. (1988). Ofidios de Colombia. Turin, Italy: Museo Regionale di Scienze Natuarali di Torino. 517 pp. (Monographie VI). (in Spanish).
- Schmidt, K.P. (1955). "Coral Snakes of the Genus Micrurus in Colombia". Fieldiana Zoology. 34 (34): 337–359. (Micrurus nicefori, new species, pp. 346–348, figures 65a–65b).
- Wallach, V.; Williams, K.L.; Boundy, J. (2014). Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, a division of the Taylor & Francis Group. ISBN 978-1-4822-0847-4. xxviii + 1,209 pp. (Micrurus spurrelli, p. 454).