Bright eye-catching coloring is a signal that the coral asp is deadly. Science has proved that only a third of the snake bites are accompanied by the injection of toxin, but a victim who is unlucky will live no more than a day if she does not receive timely assistance.
Description
Coral Aspide (Micrurus) is the common name for the genus of poisonous snakes, uniting more than forty species known today. Most representatives of this genus live in the vastness of Central and South America. Only harlequin coral aspid is also found in North America (the northern boundary of the range of distribution of this species captures the states of Kentucky and Indiana in the United States).
The smallest representatives of aspids are cobra and coral vulgaris. Their length is only about fifty centimeters. The body of the largest, giant coral aspid, can reach a meter and a half length.
These snakes are characterized by a small, flat head, the absence of a pronounced cervical interception, the spindle-shaped body ends with a small tail. The eyes are small, with round pupils. Very small poisonous teeth are located inside a small, rather weakly stretched mouth. Extraordinarily bright, colorful coloring is a distinctive feature of all snakes of this genus. A typical example is the ordinary coral aspid (photo below).
The alternation of red, black and yellow (white) rings on the body occurs in the correct order, at regular intervals. The sizes of the rings and the alternation order are individual for each type of aspid.
Lifestyle
As a rule, coral aspid leads a secretive, nocturnal lifestyle. During daylight hours, he hides in burrows dug in the ground, as well as in piles of fallen leaves and dry branches. This snake is most active at dusk and before dawn. Its main food, as a rule, is lizards and small snakes, since small fangs are simply not able to bite through the skin of a larger creature. Occasionally, it also feeds on frogs and small rodents.
The coral aspide attacks, rushing forward with wide open mouth. In one bite, he is able to inject from six to twelve milligrams of poison into the victim’s body, while a dose of 4-6 milligrams of this toxin is fatal for humans. However, people are rarely bitten by an asp. As a rule, this happens with accidental contact or when they, attracted by a beautiful color, disturb the snake or try to touch it. At the site of the bite, edema usually does not even occur, sometimes pain is also absent. However, without medical assistance, a person bitten by an aspide can die in less than a day. Those who survived will always have serious kidney problems, so it’s best not to touch the aspids and not keep them at home.
Breeding
The mating season in coral aspids occurs twice a year: in late spring – early summer and late summer – early fall. Males of this kind of snakes have rather poor eyesight, and they find females with difficulty. In addition, they are very aggressive. Often, instead of the mating ritual, during which the male coral aspid strokes the female with his nose on the back, a real duel occurs between snakes of different sexes.
As a rule, in May-June, females lay eggs (from four to eight) in a hole dug in the ground. The length of each egg can reach four centimeters. In August or September, small snakes appear. They have the same color as adults, and, leaving the nest, immediately begin an independent life.
Interesting Facts
Faced with an obstacle, for example, with a stone, a coral aspid is usually frightened, hiding its head under a folded body. At the same time, it rolls from side to side, and lifts the back of the body vertically, curling its tail into a ring.
Coral Aspid is the only poisonous snake in North America to lay eggs. All the rest give birth to live cubs.
Eating other types of snakes, the aspid is sometimes not averse to making money also from relatives. In the mating season, a deadly scramble of coral aspids can begin immediately after mating.
Due to the bright color of this snake, it is sometimes also called "harlequin" or "candy." And the locals in some regions of this reptile's habitat call it the "minute snake." A coral aspid kills an animal bitten by it in a minute (we are talking about small prey).