Skip to main content

Coral Snake, Coralillo

Micrurus nigrocinctus sp.

Published on Project Noah
Zoom
NominateNominate for Wildlife Photograph of the Month
reportFlag Spotting

10.068, -84.5188

Field Notes

Description:

It was amazingly beautiful and the colors so very bright!!
It was a juvenile Coralillo, it had the right colors in the right order!! Red, Yellow, Black, ( very poisonous)
It had the yellow band across the head, 13 red bands, 6 tail rings and it was 9 to 10 inches long.

Habitat:

Found at a lower montane, wet (moist) forest, 900 meter above sea level, on a rainy day

Notes:

It was at my front door after a rainy day, it looked like juvenile, I try to catch it (broom and long handle dust pan) but it went inside the House through a small hole. A day later it was at my Laundry room located to the right of my front door, I placed it in a plastic container, she wiggle a lot, took it to the land across my home so it can live happily ever after...

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (8)
Tukup
Hi Gilma. I don't imagine we will ever get another chance to get one of these in the Coral Snakes of the World Mission. I would be honored if you would add it. Haven't seen any new spottings from you lately. I trust you are just not free to roam, as opposed to sick. Be safe.
Tukup
Just checked Reptile DataBase and nigrocinctus is the only subspecies found in Costa Rica, so if you want to update the name to Micrurus nigrocinctus nigrocinctus, I think that would be correct. Thanks from the snake too for letting it go :-)
Tukup
Hi Gilma. Just searching my contacts for coral snakes and found this beauty. I just started a new mission: Coral Snakes of the World (https://www.projectnoah.org/missions/2402036002). If you're interested, I would love to have this posted to that mission. FYI, the "red on yellow kill a fellow, red on black, venom lack" only works north of the Rio Grande. In Mexico, Central and South america, they can be in any order. Half the corals here in our area are "red on black," very venomous. Thanks for posting this long ago :-)
Tom15
What a nice looking snake and glad to hear you took good care of it:-)
Gilma Jeannette Ospino Ferreira-Norman
Thank you, jones4, I was very careful. It really did not want nothing to do with me, all it wanted was to scape!! I do not know if it is true but it is said that the little ones have even more poison.

Spotted for Missions

Mission
Paso Pacifico Survey
Photographed
PublishedMay 27, 2013

Community Sponsor

Butterfly
Become a Community Sponsor and Help Grow our Global Movement!

Accelerate our Mission to Photograph 
Every Species in the World!

Butterflies icon
Become a Community Sponsor

Wildlife Community

Wildlife Community

Join a worldwide community passionate about wildlife and nature!

Join Project Noah

Nature School

Nature School

Transform your green space into a curiosity-creating nature classroom!

Visit Nature School

Wildlife Game

Wildlife Game

Defend wildlife throughout the jungle in thrilling nature game!

Play Baboon

Nature & Conservation Organizations

Brands & Mission-Focused Companies