Aquatic coral snake
species of reptile
The aquatic coral snake (Micrurus surinamensis) is a semiaquatic species of coral snake, a venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to northern South America.
Common names
Local common names for Micrurus surinamensis include cobra coral, coral de agua, coralillo, coral venenosa, culebra del agua, naca-naca, naca-naca de agua, boichumbeguaçu, himeralli, itinkia, kraalslang, koraalslang, krarasneke, kraka sneki, and wata mio.
Description
Micrurus surinamensis is one of the heaviest and most robust coral snakes. Adults have an average total length (tail included) of 0.8–1.0 m (2.6–3.3 ft), with a maximum verified total length of 1.35 m (4.4 ft), although there are unproven reports of 1.8 m (5.9 ft) specimens.
The species is characterized by the coloration of its head, which is mainly red, with black scale edging. The head is large, with a long snout, and eyes and nostrils located more dorsally than in other coral snakes. The dorsal scales are smooth (non-keeled) and shiny, and arranged in 15 rows. Supra-anal keels are present in males, but little developed. The body has wide red rings that are separated by 5–8 triads.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3015238. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Aquatic coral snake” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.