Poisonous Snolces of iho World 



Kycs siiiull (i> imxlrriiti' In slxf ; piiiills roiiiiil. 



Ilt-ml sciilfs: The iioriiiiil 1) on tlu' itowm ; roslnil 

 hroiiil iiMil rciunili'tl, »■> nuilliUM. I.iid-nilly, nasal In 

 contiii'l with slncU- iircoiular or st'itaniti'tl from II by 

 |irt>rrontiil ; pn niar alisi-nt In ('. hilirnni. 



Ilody si'mU-s: Dorsals snioolli, In l.'{-17 nonolilii|iii' 

 rows tliroiiuhout liody. X'cnlrals I'.IO .'tLMl; anal |plalc> 

 i'ntlr»> or dlvulfd ; snbcandals usumIIv paired, ociasion- 

 ally shiKlt- In ''. niin-rli Ihiinlii. IL' ti. 



Maxillary Iim'IIi: 'I'wo lar>,'i> lulmlar fanes wltli cx- 

 tornal eronvcs fullowcd. aflcr :iii liili'rspacc, by .'{ 

 small liM'tli. 



Orientol Coral Snakes, CiiHiophl'i. 



Iiliiili/ifulinii: This fjt'nus of Koncrally small 

 snakes intlndes llic siicilcs formerly in llie uenus 

 lliiiiibiiiiydniK. Tliey all have a small head wliiili is 

 barely or not distinct from the neck: a Ion;; liddy which 

 is slim and cylindrical with Utile lapcr; i:; or l.'i scale 

 rows at midhody. rarely 17: a short tail; and a smooth 

 polished appearance. Like the American coral snakes. 

 Iliey are diflii'nlt to distin^:uisli from some iioniioisonous 

 snakes. Absen<e of the loreal shield in the coral snakes 

 helps, but similar nonpoisonons snakes may lack this 

 shield. Divided sulicaudals and the absence of enlarged 

 vertebral scales distinguish them from krails. Cobras 

 are larger and have a quite different body bnihl. 



Color and iiattern show marked individual and species 

 variation. Representative i)atterns are exemplified by 

 Citltiiiiihi.i hkiccIcIIiukIH wliicli is russet to pink wilh 

 narrow, widely .sei)arated black crossbands and a wide 

 cream hand across the base of the head, and by ('. xini- 

 tiii which is brown to crimson with 3 longitudinal black 

 stripes and a narrow cream headband. (See plate V, 

 fig. 6; plate VI, tig. 1. 1 



Distrihiili/iic The genus occurs throughout southeast 

 Asia including the I'hilippines, Malaysia, and Taiwan. 

 They are snakes of forest country ranging well into the 

 mountains but they avoid dry terrain. Occasionally they 

 have been collected in suburban areas. 



Remarks: The Oriental coral snakes are generally 

 considered rare, but this may only reflect their very 

 secretive nature. They liavo been found under logs or 

 ground litter and occasionally in the open at night. 



The.v are quiet rei)tiles apparently very reluctant to 

 bite. Some authorities consider them essentially harm- 

 less, but it may be recalled that the North American 

 coral snake once had this reputation. 



ELAPIDAE: Genus Moticoro Gray, 1834. 

 Long-<rlandecI coial snakes. 



Two species are found in the region of .southeastern 

 Asia : from Thailand and the I'hilippines to Sumatra, 

 Java, Borneo, and Celebes. These snakes are relatively 

 small and slender but individuals of one species ( .1/, 

 hivirr/ata) occasionally approach 5 feet in length; such 

 individuals are believed to be capable of inflicting a 

 dangerous bite. 



Ili/liiili(i)i : lli'iiil sMinll iiiiil rioi dl^iinrl I'lnui luxly, 

 (tody cyllndrlial, slender and clnn^'alci! : l:iil shorl. 



lOyes small lo niodcnili'; pupils rnunil. 



Head scales: The usnnl !) ipn the crown; no canlhus; 

 I'oslral broad and rounded. I.alerall.v. nasal In broad 

 contact with single pr cociilar ; c.\c in <oiilacl wilh supra- 

 labial row. 



liipdv scales: Dorsals sniooih, in l.'l Monoblique rows 

 Ihronghoiit bod.v. Veidrals I',I7 'J'.Ki ; anal plalc cnlire; 

 sulicaudals paired, 1." .")(). 



Maxillar.v teeth: Two large tubular fangs; no other 

 teeth on the bone. 



h'cmarhs: The only consistant difference between these 

 snakes and those of the getnis Calliripliin is that Maticora 

 has elongated venom glands that extend posteriorly for 

 about one-third of the body lenglli. The heart has been 

 pushed back to the middle third of the body, where it 

 can be felt I in jireserved specimens) as a hard object, 

 thus identifying the genus. 



Color and pattern exliiliil much variation. In general 

 they .-ue dark hripwii li> IpIuc Iphok abcpve with narrow 

 light stripes of vcIIppw, rcil. p;ilc IpIuc, vIppIcI, ppr white. 

 The belly of the cipinnippn Ippiig-glanded snake {ilatiri>ra 

 ifitixtiiKilix] is hlap-k and white; the tail red barred 

 with hlap-k. In tlie rciMpcllied long-glanded snake (M. 

 hiviryuttn Ihe entire head, tail and belly are bright red. 



Figure 84, — Long-glanded Snake, Maticora hirirgata. 

 Photo by D. Dwight Davis 



These are secretive, inoffensive snakes. When dis- 

 turbed they squirm about violently often curling and 

 elevating the tail to display their bright color. The 

 behavior is characteristic of some Asian and Ameri- 

 can coral snakes and ma.v occasionall.y be seen in kraits. 

 It is likewise demonstrated by several unrelated kinds 

 (pf nonpoisppiious snakes. 



Althipugh they rarely bite, the long-glanded snakes 

 must be cipnsidered ptPtentially dangerous. Serious poi- 

 soning has residted from the bite of .1/. iiitcstiiialis and 

 death from the bite of ^f. hh-irgata. Xo antivenins are 

 pripduced against venppnis of long-glanded snakes or 

 Oriental cppral snakes. 



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