Micrurus lemniscatus

Micrurus lemniscatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Elapidae
Genus:	Micrurus
Species:	M. lemniscatus
Binomial name
Micrurus lemniscatus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
Coluber lemniscatus Linnaeus, 1758 Elaps lemniscatus — A.M.C. Duméril, Bibron & A.H.A. Duméril, 1854 Elaps heterochilus Boulenger, 1896 Elaps gravenhorstii Boulenger, 1896 Micrurus lemniscatus — Beebe, 1919 Micrurus helleri K.P. Schmidt & F.J.W. Schmidt, 1925 Elaps frontifasciatus F. Werner, 1927[1]

Micrurus lemniscatus, commonly known as the South American coral snake, is a species of venomous elapid snake, native to South America.^[1]

Geographic range

M. lemniscatus is found in Argentina, northern Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, eastern Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana,^[2] Paraguay, eastern Peru, Suriname, Trinidad, and Venezuela.^[1]

Subspecies

There are currently five recognized subspecies, including the nominotypical subspecies:^[3]

• Micrurus lemniscatus carvalhoi Roze, 1967
• Micrurus lemniscatus diutius Burger, 1955
• Micrurus lemniscatus fronifasciatus (F. Werner, 1927)
• Micrurus lemniscatus helleri K.P. Schmidt & F.J.W. Schmidt, 1925
• Micrurus lemniscatus lemniscatus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Nota bene: A binomial authority or trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Micrurus.

Etymology

The subspecific names, carvahloi and helleri, are in honor of Brazilian herpetologist Antenor Leitão de Carvalho and American zoologist Edmund Heller, respectively.^[4]

References

1. The Reptile Database. Consulted 03 October 2014.
2. Cole, C.J., C.R. Townsend, R.P. Reynolds, R.D. MacCulloch and A. 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: 317–620. doi:10.2988/0006-324x-125.4.317.
3. "Micrurus lemniscatus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
4. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Micrurus lemniscatus carvalhoi, p. 49; M. l. helleri, p. 120).

Further reading

• Boulenger GA. 1896. Catalogue of the Snakes in the British Museum (Natural History). Volume III., Containing the Colubridæ (Opisthoglyphæ and Proteroglyphæ), ... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiv + 727 pp. + Plates I-XXV. (Elaps lemniscatus, p. 430).
• Freiberg M. 1982. Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. ISBN 0-87666-912-7. (Micrurus lemniscatus, p. 115 + color photograph of M. l. carvalhoi on p. 187).
• Jan G, Sordelli F. 1872. Iconographie générale des Ophidiens, Quarante-deuxième livraison. Paris: Baillière. Index + Plates I-VI. (Elaps lemniscatus, Plate V, figures 1 & 1*). (in French).
• Linnaeus C. 1758. Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, diferentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio Decima, Reformata. Stockholm: L. Salvius. 824 pp. (Coluber lemniscatus, new species, p. 224). (in Latin).
• Roze JA. 1996. Coral Snakes of the Americas: Biology, Identification, and Venoms. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Co. 340 pp. ISBN 978-0894648472.