''Micrurus mipartitus'' (red-tailed coral snake or many-banded coral snake) is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

coral snake Coral snakes are a large group of elapid snakes that can be divided into two distinct groups, the Old World coral snakes and New World coral snakes. There are 27 species of Old World coral snakes, in three genera ('' Calliophis'', '' Hemibungar ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Elapidae Elapidae (, commonly known as elapids , from , variant of "sea-fish") is a family of snakes characterized by their permanently erect fangs at the front of the mouth. Most elapids are venomous, with the exception of the genus '' Emydocephalus ...

. The species is native to

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

and northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

. The red-tailed coral snake is common in agricultural areas in

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. Its highly

neurotoxic Neurotoxicity is a form of toxicity in which a biological, chemical, or physical agent produces an adverse effect on the structure or function of the central and/or peripheral nervous system. It occurs when exposure to a substance – specifical ...

venom is known to cause

seizures A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...

in its prey by activating

nerve A nerve is an enclosed, cable-like bundle of nerve fibers (called axons). Nerves have historically been considered the basic units of the peripheral nervous system. A nerve provides a common pathway for the Electrochemistry, electrochemical nerv ...

proteins Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, re ...

responsible for seizures within it.

Subspecies

Five

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are recognized as being valid. ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

'': A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

other than ''Micrurus''.

Phenotypic features

''M. mipartitus'' has a cylindrical body that can reach a total length (including tail) of . It has quite small eyes and a rounded head. The black body rings of this species can number from 34 to 84 and are separated by narrow yellow or white intermediary rings. The second ring on the head and 3 or 4 of the tail rings are red-colored in contrast to the white or yellow rings.

Natural history

''M. mipartitus'' is a species of crepuscular and nocturnal habits. During periods of low rainfall, it may be located underground, several centimeters deep. In times of high rainfall, it is found on the soil surface or where

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...

is abundant. This coral snake lives in forests, from tropical dry forests to foggy forests, and is also found in human settlements in rural areas used for agriculture. Micrurus mipartitus Western Columbia competing over Caecilia sp

Micrurus mipartitus Western Columbia competing over Caecilia sp

The diet of ''M. mipartitus'' is mainly based on

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

s (e.g., '' Atractus werneri'', '' A. sanctamartae'', ''

Leptotyphlops ''Leptotyphlops'' is a genus of nonvenomous blind snakes, commonly known as slender blind snakes and threadsnakes, in the family Leptotyphlopidae. The genus is endemic to and found throughout Africa. Eleven species have been moved to the genus ...

'' spp.) as well as

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

s (e.g., '' Lepidoblepharis sanctaemartae''), amphisbaenids (e.g., ''

Amphisbaena The amphisbaena (, , or , plural: amphisbaenae; ) is a mythological, ant-eating serpent with a head at each end. The name of the creature is alternatively written amphisbaina, amphisbene, amphisboena, amphisbona, amphista, amfivena, amphivena, ...

'' spp.),

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

s, and

caecilian Caecilians (; ) are a group of limbless, vermiform (worm-shaped) or serpentine (snake-shaped) amphibians with small or sometimes nonexistent eyes. They mostly live hidden in soil or in streambeds, and this cryptic lifestyle renders caecilians ...

s (e.g., ''

Caecilia guntheri ''Caecilia guntheri'' is a species of caecilian in the family Caeciliidae. It is found in Colombia and Ecuador. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The ...

)''. It is oviparous; about eight white-colored eggs have been recorded, which are long, with an average weight of . Incubation period lasts between 73–87 days, total length of each hatchling varies from and weight is around .

Range

It occurs in Central America and South America. Limits of its range vary by source and may include Nicaragua and Costa Rica in the north, although older records from Nicaragua and Costa Rica likely refer to '' M. multifasciatus''. The

IUCN Redlist The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological spe ...

restricts its range to Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, and possibly Peru. It has also been listed from Brazil (Rondônia).

Venom

The red-tailed coral snake has a potentially deadly

venom, which produces a complete depolarizing muscle block.

Proteomics Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteins. Proteins are vital macromolecules of all living organisms, with many functions such as the formation of structural fibers of muscle tissue, enzymatic digestion of food, or synthesis and replicatio ...

analysis of the venom components found that it contains about 60%

three-finger toxin Three-finger toxins (abbreviated 3FTx) are a protein superfamily of small toxin proteins found in the venom of snakes. Three-finger toxins are in turn members of a larger superfamily of three-finger protein domains which includes non-toxic prote ...

s, 30%

phospholipase A2 The enzyme phospholipase A2 (EC 3.1.1.4, PLA2, systematic name phosphatidylcholine 2-acylhydrolase) catalyses the cleavage of fatty acids in position 2 of phospholipids, hydrolyzing the bond between the second fatty acid "tail" and the glycero ...

, and 10% other toxins. The most abundant venom component is the three-finger toxin mipartoxin-I. The venom acts by blocking the neuromuscular transmission of nerve muscle preparations, it acts in a post-synaptic way through the

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, or nAChRs, are Receptor (biochemistry), receptor polypeptides that respond to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Nicotinic receptors also respond to drugs such as the agonist nicotine. They are found in the c ...

(nAChr), inhibiting the muscle contractions in

phrenic nerve The phrenic nerve is a mixed nerve that originates from the C3–C5 spinal nerves in the neck. The nerve is important for breathing because it provides exclusive motor control of the diaphragm, the primary muscle of respiration. In humans, t ...

diaphragm. After the bite, local pain and paraesthesia appear in minutes, in severe cases, neurological manifestations appear in 30 minutes to 1–2 hours, such as progressive bilateral ptosis,

dysarthria Dysarthria is a speech sound disorder resulting from neurological injury of the motor component of the motor–speech system and is characterized by poor articulation of phonemes. It is a condition in which problems effectively occur with the ...

, progressive weakness in the muscles of the extremities, difficulties in walking,

salivation Saliva (commonly referred as spit or drool) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which DN ...

drowsiness Somnolence (alternatively sleepiness or drowsiness) is a state of strong desire for sleep, or sleeping for unusually long periods (compare hypersomnia). It has distinct meanings and causes. It can refer to the usual state preceding falling asleep ...

respiratory arrest Respiratory arrest is a serious medical condition caused by apnea or respiratory dysfunction severe enough that it will not sustain the body (such as agonal breathing). Prolonged apnea refers to a patient who has stopped breathing for a long period ...

, flaccid quadriparesis and severe flaccid quadriplegia. The LD50 for 18-20 gram mice is 9 μg and 0.45 mg / kg. The intraperitoneal lethal dose is 0.125 mg / kg and 0.06 μg / g.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5079828 mipartitus Snakes of Central America Snakes of South America Reptiles of Colombia Reptiles of Costa Rica Reptiles of Panama Reptiles of Ecuador Reptiles of Venezuela Reptiles described in 1854 Taxa named by Gabriel Bibron Taxa named by André Marie Constant Duméril Taxa named by Auguste Duméril