You are here » home › advanced search › search results › Micrurus surinamensis

Micrurus surinamensis (CUVIER, 1816)

iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Micrurus surinamensis?

Add your own observation of
Micrurus surinamensis »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaElapidae, Elapoidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Aquatic Coral Snake
Portuguese: Boichumbeguaçu, Cobra-Coral, Cobra-Coral-Aquática, Cobra-Coral-D’água, Cobra-Coral-de-Cabeça-Vermelha, Coral, Coral-Verdadeira 
SynonymElaps surinamensis CUVIER 1816: 84
Elaps surinamensis — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1854: 1224
Micrurus surinamensis —BEEBE 1919: 216
Micrurus surinamensis — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970: 219
Micrurus surinamensis surinamensis — DUELLMAN 1978: 262
Micrurus surinamensis surinamensis — GASC & RODRIGUES 1980
Micrurus surinamensis surinamensis — WELCH 1994: 89
Micrurus surinamensis — STARACE 1998: 367
Micrurus surinamensis — WHITHWORTH & BEIRNE 2011
Micrurus surinamensis — WALLACH et al. 2014: 454
Micrurus surinamensis — NOGUEIRA et al. 2019 
DistributionFrench Guiana, Guyana, Colombia (Amazon region, Roraima), Ecuador, Peru, Brazil (Mato Grosso, Pará), Bolivia (Beni)

Type locality: Suriname.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesLectotype: MNHN-RA 3926, male from Suriname, probably collected by Levaillant(?); originally syntype, designated as lectotype by Schmidt (1952); paralectotype: MNHN-RA 3925 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Distinguished from other species of the genus by frontal scale narrower than supraoculars; only one supralabial (4th) contacting the eye; head flattened with nostrils and eyes directed upwards; process pseudocoronoid extremely developed; distinguished from M. nattereri by having 16–174 (instead of 180–19) ventrals in males and 169–187 (instead of 193–21) ventrals in females; supratemporals extending well beyond exoccipitals rather than reaching only the posterior portion of exoccipitals in M. nattereri; posterior portion of parietal bone with a conspicuous sharp projection which is blunter in M. nattereri (from PASSOS & FERNANDES 200).


Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 40 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentVenomous!

Subspecies: Micrurus surinamensis nattereri SCHMIDT 192 has been elevated to full species status.

Habitat: Micrurus surinamensis is aquatic

Publication date: Although often cited as Cuvier 1817, “Règne Animal” was published in late 1816 fide Roux 1976. 
Etymologynamed after its type locality and distribution. 
References
  • Almeida, M. R. N., da Fonseca, W. L., de França Nascimento, J. A., Mesquita, E. D. S., de Lima Moraes, L. G., Martins, M., & Bernarde, P. S. 2024. Activity, foraging mode, and abundance of the aquatic coral snake Micrurus surinamensis (Cuvier, 1816)(Serpentes: Elapidae) in the western Brazilian Amazonia. Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment, 1-8 - get paper here
  • Arteaga, A.; Bustamante, L.; Vieira, J. 2024. Reptiles of Ecuador. Khamai Foundation & Tropical Herping, 1073 pp. - get paper here
  • Ávila, R.W.; R.A. Kawashita-Ribeiro. 2011. Herpetofauna of São João da Barra Hydroelectric Plant, state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Check List 7 (6): 750-755 - get paper here
  • Avila-Pires, T.C.S.; Hoogmoed,M.S. & W.A. da Rocha 2010. Notes on the Vertebrates of northern Pará, Brazil: a forgotten part of the Guianan Region, I. Herpetofauna Bol. Mus. Para. Emílio Goeldi Cienc. Nat. 5 (1): 13-112 - get paper here
  • Avila-Pires, Teresa C.S.; Kleiton R. Alves-Silva, Laís Barbosa, Fabrício S. Correa, Jorge F. A. Cosenza, Ana Paula V. Costa-Rodrigues, Aurea A. Cronemberger, Marinus S. Hoogmoed, Geraldo R. Lima-Filho, Adriano O. Maciel, Alexandre F. R. Missassi, Lyw 2018. Changes in Amphibian and Reptile Diversity Over Time in Parque Estadual do Utinga, a Protected Area Surrounded by Urbanization. Herpetology Notes 11: 499-512 - get paper here
  • Beebe, William 1919. Higher vertebrates of British Guiana, with special reference to the fauna of Bartica District. Zoologica 2 (7): 205-238 - get paper here
  • Bernal, R. 2025. Serpientes de Colombia-Guía de Campo. Serie de Guías Tropicales de Campo. 19: 396 pp. Conservación Internacional Colombia, Bogotá - get paper here
  • BERNARDE, P.S., ALBUQUERQUE, S., BARROS, T.O. & TURCI, L.C.B. 2012. Serpentes do Estado de Rondônia, Brasil. Biota Neotropica 12 (3): 1-29 - get paper here
  • BERNARDE, Paulo Sérgio; Jáson de Oliveira GOMES 2012. Serpentes peçonhentas e ofidismo em Cruzeiro do Sul, Alto Juruá, Estado do Acre, Brasil. Acta Amazonica 42 (1): 65 - 72 - get paper here
  • Burger, W.L. 1955. A new subspecies of the coral snake Micrurus lemniscatus from Vénézuela, British Guiana and Trinidad, and a key for the identification of associated species of coral snakes. Bol. Mus. Cienc. Nat. Caracas 1: 35-40
  • Campbell, J.A. & Lamar, W.W. 1989. The Venomous Reptiles of Latin America. Comstock Publishing/Cornell University Press, Ithaca
  • CATENAZZI, A., LEHR, E. & VON MAY, R. 2013. The amphibians and reptiles of Manu National Park and its buffer zone, Amazon basin and eastern slopes of the Andes, Peru. Biota Neotropica 13 (4): 269-283 - get paper here
  • Claessen, H. 2005. De slangen van de Guyana’s, deel IX. Lacerta 63 (6): 228-241 - get paper here
  • Cole, Charles J.; Carol R. Townsend, Robert P. Reynolds, Ross D. MacCulloch, and Amy Lathrop 2013. Amphibians and reptiles of Guyana, South America: illustrated keys, annotated species accounts, and a biogeographic synopsis. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 125 (4): 317-578; plates: 580-620 - get paper here
  • Crnobrna B, Champagne PS, Williams H, Turner H, Panduro Pisco G 2025. Occurrence dataset of reptiles and amphibians from two old-growth forest localities along the Las Piedras River, Tambopata Province, Peru. Biodiversity Data Journal 13: e154136 - get paper here
  • Crnobrna B, Santa-Cruz Farfan R, Gallegos C, López-Rojas JJ, Llanqui IB, Pisco GP, Arbaiza AK 2023. Herpetological records from the Abujao basin, central Peruvian Amazon. Check List 19(4): 433-465 - get paper here
  • Cuvier, G. 1816. Le règne animal distribué d’après son organisation, pour servir de base a l’historire naturelle des animaux et d’introduction a l’anatomie comparée. Vol. 2. Les reptiles, les poissons, les mollusques et les annélides. Déterville, Paris [often cited as 1817 but see Roux 1976: 31] - get paper here
  • Dávila, Pedro Henrique Bertáo, Hideki Sadadi Takahashi and Miguel Heyd Oshiro Barbosa. 2014. Micrurus surinamensis (aquatic coralsnake) behavior. Herpetological Review 45 (2): 340 - get paper here
  • Duellman, W. E. 1978. The biology of an equatorial herpetofauna in Amazonian Ecuador. Misc. Publ. Univ. Kans. Mus. Nat. Hist. 65: 1-352 - get paper here
  • Duellman, W. E. 2005. Cusco Amazónico: The Lives of Amphibians and Reptiles in an Amazonian Rainforest. Comstock Pub Assoc.
  • Duellman, W.E., & Salas, A.W. 1991. Annotated checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Cuzco Amazonico, Peru. Occas. Papers Mus. of Natur. Hist., Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence (143): 13 pp. - get paper here
  • Eversole, C. B., Powell, R. L., Rivas, L. R., & Lizarro, D. E. 2024. Reptile Biodiversity and Vulnerability in Bolivia’s Beni Department: Informing Conservation Priorities in a Neglected Frontier. Diversity, 16(6), 335 - get paper here
  • Feitosa, Darlan T., Paulo P. Passos and Ana Lúcia Prudente. 2007. Taxonomic status and geographic variation of the slender coralsnake Micrurus filiformis (Günther, 1859) (Serpentes, Elapidae). South American J. Herp. 2 (3): 149-156
  • Ferrão, M., Soares-Filho, J.A.R. & Oliveira, M. 2012. Checklist of reptiles (Testudines, Squamata) from Alto Alegre dos Parecis, southwestern Amazonia, Brazil. Herpetology Notes, 5: 473-480 - get paper here
  • Fonseca, Wirven Lima da; Julivaldo Dantas da Silva, Arthur Diesel Abegg, Conrado Mario da Rosa, Paulo Sergio Bernarde 2019. Herpetofauna of Porto Walter and surrounding areas, Southwest Amazonia, Brazil. Herpetology Notes 12: 91-107 - get paper here
  • Fraga R de, Stow AJ, Magnusson WE, Lima AP 2014. The Costs of Evaluating Species Densities and Composition of Snakes to Assess Development Impacts in Amazonia. PLoS One 9 (8): e105453. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0105453 - get paper here
  • Fraga, R., Lima, A. P., Prudente, A. L. C., & Magnusson, W. E. 2013. Guia de cobras da região de Manaus – Amazônia Central. Manaus: INPA - get paper here
  • Gasc & Rodrigues 1980. Liste preliminaire des Serpents de la Guyane francaise. Bull. Mus. Nat. Hist. Nat. Paris 2 (4): 559-598
  • Gonzalez R. C. et al. 2020. Lista dos Nomes Populares dos Répteis no Brasil – Primeira Versão. Herpetologia Brasileira 9 (2): 121 – 214 - get paper here
  • Gower, D.; Garrett, K. & Stafford, P. 2012. Snakes. Firefly Books, Buffalo, NY,<br />144 p..
  • Harvey M. B., J. Aparicio E, and L. Gonzalez A. 2003. Revision of the venomous snakes of Bolivia: Part 1. The coralsnakes (Elapidae: Micrurus). Annals of the Carnegie Museum 72: 1-52 - get paper here
  • Ihering, R. von 1911. As cobras do Brazil. Primeira parte. Rev. Mus. Paulista 8 (1910): 273-379 - get paper here
  • KOK, P. J. R., ROZE, J. A., LENGLET, G. L., SAMBHU, H. & ARJOON, D. 2003. Micrurus isozonus (Cope, 1860) (Serpentes, Elapidae): an addition to the herpetofauna of Guyana, with comments on other species of coral snakes from Guyana. Bulletin de l’Institut Royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique, Biologie, 73 : 75-82 - get paper here
  • Kornacker,P.M. 1999. Checklist and key to the snakes of Venezuela. PaKo-Verlag, Rheinbach, Germany, 270 pp.
  • Lancini,A.R. & Kornacker,P.M. 1989. Die Schlangen von Venezuela. Armitano Editores C.A., Caracas, 1-381
  • Mans, D. R., Djotaroeno, M., Pawirodihardjo, J., & Friperson, P. 2021. Exploring the global animal biodiversity in the search for new drugs-Reptiles. Journal of Translational Science - get paper here
  • Martins, M. & Oliveira, M.E. 1998. Natural history of snakes in forests of the Manaus region, central Amazonia, Brazil. Herpetological Natural History 6: 78-150 - get paper here
  • May, Rudolf von; Louise H. Emmons, Guillermo Knell, Jennifer M. Jacobs, Lily O. Rodríguez 2006. REPTILES del Centro Río Los Amigos, Manu y Tambopata, Perú. Field Museum, Web Version - get paper here
  • MENDES-PINTO, TELÊMACO JASON; Mestrando, BERNHARD, RAFAEL, VOGT, RICHARD; PEDRETT, RONNEZZA CÉLLIA LOBATO CAMPOS;GARCIA, RAUBER SANTOS 2011. A COLLECTION OF AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF RESEARCH OF THE AMAZON. Rev. Colombiana cienc. Anim. 3(2): 238 - get paper here
  • Metcalf, M. F., Guedouar, E., Davis, L., Rodriguez, A., Marsh, A., Pacaya, E. T., ... & Gunnels IV, C. W. 2023. Herpetofauna of Madre Selva Biological Station in Loreto, Peru. Herpetology Notes, 16, 727-740 - get paper here
  • Morais, D.H.; R.W. Ávila; R.A. Kawashita-Ribeiro; M.A. Carvalho. 2011. Squamata, Elapidae, Micrurus surinamensis (Cuvier, 1817): New records and distribution map in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, with notes on diet and activity period. Check List 7 (3): 350-351 - get paper here
  • Morato de Carvalho, C. et al. 2021. VERTEBRADOS TERRESTRES DE RORAIMA BIOLOGIA GERAL E EXPERIMENTAL 20/21 (1): - get paper here
  • Morato, S.A.A.; Calixto, P.O.; Mendes, L.R.; Gomes, R.; Galatti, U.; Trein, F.L.; Oliveira, F.S.; Ferreira, G.N. 2014. Guia fotográfico de identificação da herpetofauna da Floresta Nacional de Saracá-Taquera, Estado do Pará. Curitiba: STCP Engenharia de Projetos Ltda.; Porto Trombetas: MRN – Mineração Rio do Norte S.A.; 213 p. - get paper here
  • Morato, Sérgio Augusto Abrahão; Guilherme Nunes Ferreira; Michela Rossane Cavilha Scupino (eds.) 2018. Herpetofauna da Amazônia Central: Estudos na FLONA de Saracá-Taquera. Curitiba, Pr: STCP Engenharia de Projetos Ltda.; Porto Trombetas, Pa: MRN – Mineração Rio do Norte S.A., 2018.<br />210p. - get paper here
  • Moravec J., Aparicio J. 2005. Notes on the herpetofauna of Bioceanica and Bolpebra (Provincia Nicolas Suaréz, Departamento Pando, Biolivia). Journal of the National Museum (Prague), Natural History Series 174 (1-4): 95-113
  • Nogueira, Cristiano C.; Antonio J.S. Argôlo, Vanesa Arzamendia, Josué A. Azevedo, Fausto E. Barbo, Renato S. Bérnils, Bruna E. Bolochio, Marcio Borges-Martins, Marcela Brasil-Godinho, Henrique Braz, Marcus A. Buononato, Diego F. Cisneros-Heredia, 2019. Atlas of Brazilian snakes: verified point-locality maps to mitigate the Wallacean shortfall in a megadiverse snake fauna. South American J. Herp. 14 (Special Issue 1):1-274 - get paper here
  • O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here
  • Pantoja, D.L.; R. Fraga 2012. Herpetofauna of the Reserva Extrativista do Rio Gregório, Juruá Basin, southwest Amazonia, Brazil. Check List 8(3):360-374 - get paper here
  • Passos, P.; Fernandes, D.S. 2005. Variation and taxonomic status of the aquatic coral snake Micrurus surinamensis (Cuvier, 1817) (Serpentes: Elapidae). Zootaxa 953: 1-14 - get paper here
  • Pérez-Santos,C. & Moreno, A.G. 1988. Ofidios de Colombia. Museo reegionale di Scienze Naturali, Torino, Monographie VI, 517 pp.
  • Pessoa, Anita de Moura; Mariana Pires de Campos Telles, Cintia Pelegrineti Targueta, Steven Douglas Aird & Nelson Jorge da Silva 2021. Development and Cross-Amplification of Microsatellite Markers for Micrurus surinamensis (Elapidae). Journal of Herpetology 55 (1): 33-37 - get paper here
  • Peters, James A.; Donoso-Barros, Roberto & Orejas-Miranda, Braulio 1970. Catalogue of the Neotropical Squamata: Part I Snakes. Bull. US Natl. Mus. 297: 347 pp. - get paper here
  • Pinheiro, Leandra C.; Pedro S. Abe; Youszef O. C. Bitar; Luiz P. P. Albarelli & Maria C. Santos-Costa 2015. Composition and ecological patterns of snake assemblages in an Amazon-Cerrado Transition Zone in Brazil. Iheringia, Série Zoologia, Porto Alegre, 105(2):147-156 - get paper here
  • Pinto, Roberta Richard, Marcelo Gomes and Ronald Carvalho, Jr. 2011. Micrurus surinamensis (aquatic coralsnake) ophiophagy. Herpetological Review 42 (3): 441 - get paper here
  • Rabosky, Daniel L.; Rudolf von May, Michael C. Grundler and Alison R. Davis Rabosky 2019. The Western Amazonian Richness Gradient for Squamate Reptiles: Are There Really Fewer Snakes and Lizards in Southwestern Amazonian Lowlands? Diversity 11: 199; doi:10.3390/d11100199 - get paper here
  • Rincón-Aranguri, M., Toro-Cardona, F. A., Galeano, S. P., Roa-Fuentes, L.. & Urbina-Cardona, N. 2023. Functional diversity of snakes is explained by the landscape composition at multiple areas of influence. Ecology and Evolution, 13, e10352 - get paper here
  • RIVAS, GILSON A.; CÉSAR R. MOLINA, GABRIEL N. UGUETO, TITO R. BARROS, CÉSAR L. BAR- RIO-AMORÓS & PHILIPPE J. R. KOK 2012. Reptiles of Venezuela: an updated and commented checklist. Zootaxa 3211: 1–64 - get paper here
  • Roux, C. 1976. On the dating of the first edition of Cuvier’s Règne Animal. Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History 8 (1): 31 - get paper here
  • Roux-Estève, R. 1982. Les spécimens-types du genre Micrurus (Elapidae) conservés au Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle de Paris. Mém. Inst. Butantan, 46: 79-94. - get paper here
  • Santos, Marina Meireles dos; Robson Waldemar Ávila and Ricardo Alexandre Kawashita-Ribeiro. 2011. Checklist of the amphibians and reptiles in Nobres municipality, Mato Grosso state, central Brazil. Herpetology Notes 4: 55-461 - get paper here
  • Santos-Costa, Maria Cristina dos; Gleomar Fabiano Maschio, Ana Lúcia da Costa Prudente 2015. Natural history of snakes from Floresta Nacional de Caxiuanã, eastern Amazonia, Brazil. Herpetology Notes 8: 69-98 - get paper here
  • Schmidt, K. P. 1952. The Surinam coral snake, Micrurus surinamensis. Fieldiana: Zoology 34 (4): 25-34 - get paper here
  • Schmidt, Karl P. 1936. Preliminary account of coral snakes of South America. Zoological Series of Field Museum of Natural History 20 (19): 189-203 - get paper here
  • Schmidt, Karl P. 1955. Coral snakes of the genus Micrurus in Colombia. Fieldiana Zoology 34 (34): 337-359 - get paper here
  • Schmidt, Karl P. & Walker, Warren F. 1943. Peruvian snakes from the University of Arequipa. Zoological Series of Field Museum of Zoology 24 (26): 279-296 - get paper here
  • Silva FM, Prudente ALC, Machado FA, Santos MM, Zaher H, Hingst-Zaher E. 2017. Aquatic adaptations in a Neotropical coral snake: A study of morphological convergence. J Zool Syst Evol Res. 2017;00:1–13 - get paper here
  • Silva Jr, Nelson Jorge da; Marcus Augusto Buononato & Darlan Tavares Feitosa 2016. AS COBRAS-CORAIS DO NOVO MUNDO. In: Silva (ed) Cobras corais do Brasil. Goiânia, pp. 41-69
  • Silva, F.M.; A.C. Menks; A.L.C. Prudente; J.C.L. Costa; A.E.M. Travassos; U. Galatti. 2011. Squamate Reptiles from municipality of Barcarena and surroundings, state of Pará, north of Brazil. Check List 7 (3): 220-226 - get paper here
  • Silva, M.C. da, R.H. de Oliveira, D.H. Morais, R.A. Kawashita-Ribeiro, E.S. de Brito & R.W. Ávila 2015. Amphibians and reptiles of a Cerrado area in Primavera do Leste Municipality, Mato Grosso State, Central Brazil. Salamandra 51 (2): 187-194 - get paper here
  • Starace, Fausto 1998. Guide des Serpents et Amphisbènes de Guyane. IBIS Rouge Editions, Guadeloupe, Guyane, 450 pp.
  • Starace, Fausto 2013. Guide des Serpents et Amphisbènes de Guyane. Ibis Rouge Editions, Matoury, Guyane, ISBN 978-2-84450-407-4 - get paper here
  • Strussman,C. & de Carvalho,M.A. 1998. New herpetological records for the state of Mato Grosso, western Brazil. Herpetological Review 29 (3): 183-185 - get paper here
  • Tavares-Pinheiro, Rodrigo; Fernanda Souza Melo, Vinícius Antônio Matins Barbosa de Figueiredo, Patrick Ribeiro Sanches, Jéssica Stefany Costa Anaissi, Maria Madalena Salviano Santana, Aline Emanuelle Oliveira-Souza, Tamylles dos Santos Reis, Gabriel 2021. “In living color”: predation by the coralsnake Micrurus surinamensis (Cuvier, 1816) (Serpentes: Elapidae) on a knifefish in the eastern Amazon, Brazil. Herpetology Notes 14: 755-758 - get paper here
  • Torres-Carvajal O, Pazmiño-Otamendi G, Salazar-Valenzuela D. 2019. Reptiles of Ecuador: a resource-rich portal, with a dynamic checklist and photographic guides. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13 (1): [General Section]: 209–229 (e178) - get paper here
  • Valencia, J. H., K. Garzón-Tello & M. E. Barragán-Paladines 2016. Serpientes venenosas del Ecuador: sistemática, taxonomía, historia natural, conservación, envenenamiento y aspectos antropológicos. Quito, Ecuador, Fundación Herpetológica Gustavo Orcés, Universidad de Texas, Fondo Ambiental Nacional, 652 pp. [review in HR 49 (1): 152, 2018]
  • Vaz-Silva, W.; RM Oliveira, AFN Gonzaga, KC Pinto, FC Poli, TM Bilce, M Penhacek, L Wronski, JX Martins, TG Junqueira, LCC, Cesca VY, Guimarães RD. Pinheiro 2015. Contributions to the knowledge of amphibians and reptiles from Volta Grande do Xingu, northern Brazil Braz. J. Biol., 75 (3) (suppl.): S205-S218 - get paper here
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
  • Whithworth, A. & Beirne, C. 2011. Reptiles of the Yachana Reserve. Global Vision International, 130 pp. - get paper here
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:


Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator