''Micrurus frontalis'', also known as the southern coral snake or short-tailed coral snake, is a species of a highly venomous

coral snake Coral snakes are a large group of elapid snakes that can be divided into two distinct groups, the Old World coral snakes and New World coral snakes. There are 16 species of Old World coral snakes, in three genera (''Calliophis'', '' Hemibungarus' ...

in the family

Elapidae Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids ; grc, ἔλλοψ ''éllops'' "sea-fish") is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus Emydoceph ...

. It is found in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

Description

This species grows on average to 75 cm in length, with a maximum of 164 cm already reported. The color of the head varies, with a gray pigment on the top of the snout. The body pattern consists of very wide red bands that are separated by a series of 10–15 narrower black triads with 3 blacks separated by narrow white bands. The dorsal scales are red, with black tips of dark appearance. The tail has two complete triads. It is a

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

terrestrial Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth. Terrestrial may also refer to: * Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...

and fossorial snake, which digs loose soil or litter, has been one of the main accident-causing corals in Southeast South America, although it is not relatively aggressive towards humans, it has

Oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

reproduction, although eggs / clutch has not been reported.

Distribution and Habitat

''Micrurus frontalis'' is found in south-central

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

, and northern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. It mainly lives in humid forests, tropical and subtropical deciduous forests, savannas, sandy and rocky areas, in secondary vegetation such as pastures and agricultural land, close to marshes and streams, it inhabits lowlands, from sea level to an elevation of 700 m.

Diet

It feeds on

lizards Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia althou ...

and other

snakes Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more joi ...

(including blind snakes).

Cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...

has been reported in this species.

Venom

Like all elapids in Brazil, ''Micrurus frontalis'' has post-synaptic neurotoxins (except for ''

Micrurus corallinus ''Micrurus corallinus'' is a species of highly venomous snake, venomous elapidae, elapid snake native to South America (Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay). There are no recognized subspecies. Common names Common names of this species include pain ...

'') that bind to terminal motor acetylcholine receptors, the toxin is composed of low

molecular weight A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioch ...

polypeptides, which are rapidly absorbed by the body after inoculation and symptoms can appear in minutes, the toxin acts peripherally, blocking

neuromuscular A neuromuscular junction (or myoneural junction) is a chemical synapse between a motor neuron and a muscle fiber. It allows the motor neuron to transmit a signal to the muscle fiber, causing muscle contraction. Muscles require innervation t ...

transmission. Muscle paralysis is a consequence of the action of the toxin with the neurotransmitter by the nicotinic receptor on the end plate. At the site of the bite,

edema Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's Tissue (biology), tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels t ...

and

paresthesias Paresthesia is an abnormal sensation of the skin (tingling, pricking, chilling, burning, numbness) with no apparent physical cause. Paresthesia may be transient or chronic, and may have any of dozens of possible underlying causes. Paresthesias ar ...

occur, the initial systemic symptoms of most coral accidents, include eyelid ptosis and

diplopia Diplopia is the simultaneous perception of two images of a single object that may be displaced horizontally or vertically in relation to each other. Also called double vision, it is a loss of visual focus under regular conditions, and is often v ...

, which are followed by facial muscle paralysis, visual impairment,

anisocoria Anisocoria is a condition characterized by an unequal size of the eyes' pupils. Affecting up to 20% of the population, anisocoria is often entirely harmless, but can be a sign of more serious medical problems. Causes Anisocoria is a common condit ...

dysarthria Dysarthria is a speech sound disorder resulting from neurological injury of the motor component of the motor–speech system and is characterized by poor articulation of phonemes. In other words, it is a condition in which problems effectively ...

dysphagia Dysphagia is difficulty in swallowing. Although classified under "symptoms and signs" in ICD-10, in some contexts it is classified as a disease#Terminology, condition in its own right. It may be a sensation that suggests difficulty in the passag ...

salivation Saliva (commonly referred to as spit) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which DNA can be e ...

and generalized loss of muscle strength, in severe cases, life-threatening

respiratory arrest Respiratory arrest is a sickness caused by apnea (cessation of breathing) or respiratory dysfunction severe enough it will not sustain the body (such as agonal breathing). Prolonged apnea refers to a patient who has stopped breathing for a long p ...

occurs, with patients requiring

artificial ventilation Artificial ventilation (also called artificial respiration) is a means of assisting or stimulating respiration, a metabolic process referring to the overall exchange of gases in the body by pulmonary ventilation, external respiration, and interna ...

. The median lethal dose is 22 μg for mice weighing 4–29 grams, and 0.69 mg/kg. The estimates of average yield range between 10 and 30 mg (dry weight), depending on the source.

References

frontalis Snakes of South America Reptiles of Argentina Reptiles of Brazil Reptiles of Paraguay Reptiles described in 1854 Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril Taxa named by Gabriel Bibron Taxa named by Auguste Duméril {{Elapidae-stub