Micrurus scutiventris (COPE, 1869)
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Micrurus scutiventris
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| Higher Taxa | Elapidae, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Little black coral snake, Pigmy black-backed coralsnake Portuguese: Cobra-Coral, Coral-Verdadeira, Cobra-Coral-Pequena |
| Synonym | Elaps scutiventris COPE 1869: 156 Leptomicrurus schmidti HOGE & ROMANO-HOGE 1966 Micrurus karlschmidti HOGE & ROMANO-HOGE 1972 Leptomicrurus scutiventris ROZE & BERNAL-CARLO 1987: 595 Leptomicrurus schmidti — WELCH 1994: 73 Micrurus scutiventris — SLOWINSKI 1995 Leptomicrurus scutiventris — ROZE 1996: 135 Micrurus scutiventris — SLOWINSKI et al. 2001 Leptomicrurus scutiventris — CAMPBELL & LAMAR 2004: 130 Micrurus scutiventris — WALLACH et al. 2014: 453 Micrurus scutiventris — NOGUEIRA et al. 2019 |
| Distribution | Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru Type locality: "Pebas on the Amazon in Equador. [=Departamento Loreto, NE Perú]. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: ANSP 6801, a 445 female (J. Orton). |
| Diagnosis | Definition: A small black coral snake with an orange or yellowish head band and red ventral spots that sometimes extend over the dorsum forming several narrow bands, and a low number of ventrals: 219 to 274 in both sexes (Roze 1996: 135). Description: Males have 219 to 243 (231.6) and females have 253 to 274 (256.2) ventrals; subcaudals 21 to 27 (24.0) in males and IS to 20 (18.0) in females; 1-1 temporals; Examined: 12 males and 3 females, including the type of L. schmidti. The snout is black to the level of the eyes and may or may not include the anterior part of the frontal and supraoculars. The orangy-red or light head band covers the rest of the head, except the tip of the parietals and the seventh supralabial, which are black. Below the head is usually all light red including all the genials. Occasionally, some black spots are present on a few infralabials and the mental. The body is usually all black dorsally with red ventral spots. In some small specimens the ventral spots are reduced but complete dorsally, forming narrow body bands. The red ventral . spots occupy 2 to 4 ventrals and extend on the first two dorsal rows. When the red spots become complete bands dorsally they cover one scale or less. The black ventral interspaces between the red spots are 4 to 8 ventrals long. On the taH, one or more red bands are always complete; ventrally they are longer than the red body bands. The males have 26 to 34 (31.2) and the females have 24 to 35 (28.5) red ventral spots. On the tail are 2 to 4 reddish-orange ventral spots or bands (Roze 1996: 135). |
| Comment | Venomous! |
| Etymology | Named after Latin scuti- a shield or scale and venter meaning belly; scutiventris, one with ventral scales, probably alludes to the relatively high number of ventrals in this species. The names schmidti and karlschmidti are dedications to Karl P. Schmidt, the late curator of herpetology at the Field Museum of Natural History Chicago. |
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