Overview
Distribution
Range Description
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National Distribution
United States
Origin: Native
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Type of Residency: Year-round
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Global Range: (200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)) The range extends from western Louisiana and southwestern Arkansas to central and western Texas, and south through northeastern Mexico to Guanajuato and Morelos, at elevation from near sea level to about 500 meters in the United States and to about 2,000 meters in Mexico (Dundee and Rossman 1989, Campbell and Lamar 2004, Trauth et al. 2004).
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Distribution: fitzingeri: Mexico (Guanajuato and Queretaro to Morelos) maculatus:
Type locality: Tampico, Tamaulipas, Mexico, ded. Dr. E. KALLERT Feb. 10, 1930: holotype ZMH R03028 (formerly no. 5685), male. microgalbineus: Mexico (SW Tamaulipas, CE/E San Luis Potosí to C Guanajuato) tener: USA (SW Arkansas and Louisiana to WC Texas, south into Mexico)
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The Reptile Database
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Physical Description
Type Information
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Division of Amphibians & Reptiles
Preparation: Ethanol
Locality: Rio Grande, W of San Antonio, Val Verde, Texas, United States, North America
- Paratype: Baird, S. F. & Girard, C. 1853. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. 2 (5): 23.
© Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Division of Amphibians & Reptiles
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Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Division of Amphibians & Reptiles
Preparation: Ethanol
Locality: No Further Locality Data, Kemper, Mississippi, United States, North America
- Holotype: Baird, S. F. & Girard, C. 1853. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. 2 (5): 23.
© Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Division of Amphibians & Reptiles
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Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Division of Amphibians & Reptiles
Preparation: Ethanol
Locality: Rio San Pedro of the Rio Grande, Val Verde, Texas, United States, North America
- Holotype: Baird, S. F. & Girard, C. 1853. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. 2 (5): 22.
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Ecology
Habitat
Habitat and Ecology
Systems
- Terrestrial
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Comments: Habitats are varied and include mixed pine and hardwood forests, subtropical thornscrub, tall-grass prairie, and riparian woodlands in otherwise dry areas (Campbell and Lamar 2004). In Louisiana and Arkansas, this snake inhabits forested areas (Dundee and Rossman 1989, Trauth et al. 2004). In Texas, habitats include rocky creek banks and canyons of oak-juniper brakes, live oak woodland, thornbrush chaparral of the coastal plain, sandy grass/mesquite, Cross Timbers woodland/thickets, and pine-hardwood forest; also gardens, wooded lots, and undeveloped parklands in cities; habitat is generally partially wooded and has organic ground litter (Werler and Dixon 2000). In western Texas and northern Tamaulipas, this snake usually is found near watercourses and in vegetation along temporary streams (Campbell and Lamar 2004). In northern Mexico, this snake occurs in mesquite-grassland, thorn forest, and desert; in southern Tamaulipas, it reaches 900 meters in oak savanna; at the south end of the range it is apparently restricted to high elevations in pine-oak forest and mesquite-grassland (Campbell and Lamar 2004). This snake is often underground, under leaf litter, logs or stumps, or similarly secluded. Eggs probably are laid in loose soil or decaying organic matter, or underground or under leaf litter or surface objects (Ernst 1992).
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Migration
Non-Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration.
Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).
Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.
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Trophic Strategy
Comments: Diet is composed almost exclusively of reptiles.
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Population Biology
Number of Occurrences
Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.
Estimated Number of Occurrences: 81 - 300
Comments: This species is represented by a large number of occurrences (subpopulations) (see dot maps of collection sites in Dundee and Rossman 1989, Werler and Dixon 2000, and Campbell and Lamar 2004).
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Global Abundance
100,000 - 1,000,000 individuals
Comments: Adult population size is unknown but presumably exceeds 100,000. This snake is common in Texas (Tennant 1998).
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Life History and Behavior
Cyclicity
Comments: In Mexico, apparently mostly crepuscular-nocturnal but also active in early morning and on cloudy days (Campbell and Lamar 1989).
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Conservation
Conservation Status
IUCN Red List Assessment
Red List Category
Red List Criteria
Version
Year Assessed
Assessor/s
Reviewer/s
Justification
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National NatureServe Conservation Status
United States
Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure
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NatureServe Conservation Status
Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure
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Trends
Population
Population Trend
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Global Short Term Trend: Relatively stable (=10% change)
Comments: Trend is undocumented, but extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, number of subpopulations, and population size probably are relatively stable.
Global Long Term Trend: Increase of 10-25% to decline of 30%
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Threats
Threats
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Comments: No major threats are known, but the species has declined in some areas in Texas that have undergone intensive urbanization (Werler and Dixon 2000).
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Management
Conservation Actions
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Wikipedia
Micrurus tener
Micrurus tener, commonly known as the Texas coral snake, is a species of venomous elapid snake.
Contents |
Geographic range
It ranges from the southern United States south to northeastern and central Mexico. It inhabits the states of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Querétaro and Morelos.
Description
The Texas coral snake has the traditional coloration associated with coral snakes, with black, yellow and red banding. It is capable of growing to 40 in (100 cm) in length, but most are closer to 24 in (61 cm). Males are typically smaller than females. They have smooth scales, a rounded head, and eyes with round pupils. Albino (lacking black pigment) and anerythristic (lacking red pigment) specimens have been found in the wild.
Behavior
All coral snakes are shy, secretive animals, typically nocturnal. They spend most of their time hiding in leaf litter, under logs, or in burrows in the ground.
Diet
Their primary diet consists of other snakes, primarily earth snakes, and other small fossorial species. They will also occasionally eat small lizards, but the consumption of rodents by coral snakes is rare.
Venom
Texas coral snake venom is a powerful neurotoxin, causing neuromuscular dysfunction. No deaths from coral snake bites have been reported in the United States since coral snake antivenom has been available to hospitals. The coral snake resembles other, nonvenomous snakes. This resemblance of colors has resulted in the popular saying, "Red on black, you're OK jack. Red on yellow, you're a dead fellow." Prior to the availability of antivenom, the fatality rate of coral snake envenomations is estimated at 10%, and death was primarily due to respiratory or cardiovascular failure.
A coral snake (genus Micrurus) is proteroglyphous, meaning it has a pair of hollow, small, fixed fangs in the front of its upper jaw, through which the venom is injected and encouraged via a chewing motion. Due to this method of venom delivery, a coral snake must bite and hold on for a brief time to deliver a significant amount of venom, unlike a viper, which can simply strike and introduce a large amount of venom at once. Many bites from coral snakes do not inject any venom at all, and the small size of coral snakes makes their ability to bite humans rather limited. However, a bite from any coral snake should be considered extremely serious, and medical treatment should be sought immediately. This is because symptoms of envenomation are known to sometimes delay manifestation for as long as 12 hours, but once present, often progress rapidly.
Subspecies
There are four recognized subspecies of Micrurus tener:
- Micrurus tener fitzingeri (Jan, 1858)
- Micrurus tener maculatus Roze, 1967
- Micrurus tener microgalbineus Brown & H.M. Smith, 1942
- Micrurus tener tener (Baird & Girard, 1853)
Taxonomy
The Texas coral snake was once considered the same species as the Eastern coral snake, Micrurus fulvius, but more recent research has determined that it has enough morphological differences to be considered its own species.
References
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Micrurus tener |
 | Wikispecies has information related to: Micrurus tener |
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Names and Taxonomy
Taxonomy
Comments: Micrurus tener formerly was included as a subspecies of M. fulvius. Crother et al. (2000), Collins and Taggart (2002), and Campbell and Lamar (2004) recognized M. tener and M. fulvius as distinct species.
Phylogenetic relationships of elapid snakes based on mtDNA data indicate that New World coralsnakes cluster with Asian coralsnakes (Slowinski and Keogh 2000).
See Slowinski (1995) for a phylogenetic analysis of New World coralsnakes.
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