Number of Pages: 4Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Roze, Janis A.

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Number of Pages: 4Integrative BiologyEarth and Planetary Science

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REPTILIA: SQUAMATA: SERPENTES: ELAPIDAE163.1MICRUROIDES, M. EURYXANTHUSCatalogueof AmericanAmphibiansand Reptiles.ROZE,JANIS A. 1974. Micruroides,M. euryxanthus.Micruroides SchmidtWestern coral snakeMicruroidesSchmidt,1928:63.Type-speciesElaps euryxanthusKennicott,1866,by original designation.• CONTENT.A single polytypicspecies,M. euryxanthus,isrecognized.FIGURE1. Upper, dorsalview of skull, X 5. Note prefrontalbonesseparatedby frontals.Middle,left maxillain labialview,X 17. Lower,mid-dorsalvertebrafrom left (anteriorto left),X 17.• DEFINITIONANDDIAGNOSIS.A New World elapid snakethathas theentireupperpart of theheadblack. The bodyisringedwith completered andblackbands,whichareseparatedby a yellow (sometimeswhite) band. The prefrontalbonesareseparatedby thefrontals(Fig. 1). The maxillabearsa pair oftubularfangs(with externalgrooves)at its anteriorend; theseare followed,aftera diastema,by oneor two solid teeth(Fig.1). A singlepair of chin shieldsis presentwhich"with thesolidmaxillaryteethandtheseparationof theprefrontalbones,servesto distinguishthis genus from the other New Worldelapidgenera,Micrurus andLeptomicrurus.• DESCRIPTION,DISTRIBUTION,FOSSIL RECORD,PERTINENTLITERATURE.SeeMicTUroideseuryxanthus.• ILLUSTRATIONS.The skull, maxilla, dorsal vertebra,andhemipenisare illustratedhere for the first time (Figs. 1-2).SeeM. euryxanthusfor referencesto additionalillustrations.• ETYMOLOGY.The namerefersto the taxon'ssimilaritytothe genusMicrurus by the Greektermination-oides,meaninglike or in shapeof; its genderis masculine.Micruroides euryxanthus (Kennicott)Elaps euryxanthusKennicott, 1860:337.Type-localityis notgivenin theoriginaldescription,but theNationalMuseumof NaturalHistoryrecordsshowits provenienceas "Sonora,Mexico." See Remarks. Holotype,U.S. Natl. Mus. 1122,adultmale,receivedfromT. Webb (examinedby author).FIGURE2. Upper, left hemipenis,'X 8. Lower, right tip ofleft hemipenis,X 32.FIGURE3. Color patternsof threesubspeciesof M. euryxan-thus; left, M. e. euryxanthus(CochiseCounty,Arizona); mid·dIe, M. e. australis (holotype); right, M. e. neglectus(holo-type). Stippledareasare red in life, black areasblack, andwhite areas white or yellow (scales are outlined only forclarity).Micrurus euryxanthus:StejnegerandBarbour,1917:106.Firstuseof combination.Micruroideseuryxanthus:Schmidt,1928:63.First useof com-bination.• CONTENT.Threesubspeciesarerecognized:australis,eury-xanthus,and neglectus.• DEFINITION.A slendercoral snakethat averages40 erninlength,with the head only slightly distinct from the body.There is a red·yellow-black-yellow-redsequenceof body bands(Fig. 3). The headis uniformlyblack above,as are manyofthe infracephalicscales.Thereis usually1 preocularand 2 postoculars,1+2 tem-porals,7 supralabials,and 7 infralabials.The dorsalscalesarein 15(17)-15-15 rows. There are 205-245ventrals;the analplate is divided,and thereare 19 to 31 pairs of subcaudals.Sexualdimorphismis shownin the numberof ventrals,sub·caudals,and bodybands.The hemipenis(Fig. 2) is about7 subcaudalsin length.It is bifurcatedwith the sulcusspermaticusbifurcatedas well.163.2The organ approachesa capitatecondition with the distalregionwherethe spinesbeginexpanded.The spinesgraduallydiminishin sizetowardthe apex. Each fork of the hemipenisendsin a minutepapilla-likeprojection.A longitudinalnakedfold startsat the baseand runs approximatelyparallel to thesulcus. Small, sparselydistributedspinescoverthe zone be-tweenthe fold and sulcus. A few scatteredsmall spinulesarepresenton therestof theorganup to thezoneof largespines.• DESCRIPTIONS.Generaldescriptionsof thespeciesappearedin Cope (1900), Van Denburgh (1922), Schmidt (1928),SchmidtandDavis (1941),BogertandOliver (1945),Hensley(1950), Stebbins (1954), Wright and Wright (1957), andFowlie (1967). An adequatedescriptionof M. e. australisisgivenby ZweifelandNorris (1955),andof M. e. neglectusbyRoze (1967)and Hardy and McDiarmid (1969).• ILLUSTRATIONS.For color illustrations,see Ditmars (1908and 1936),Zim and Smith (1953),Schmidtand Inger (1957),Klemmer(1963),East (1965),and Stebbins(1966); for headscutellationsee Cope (1900), Ditmars (1908), Schmidt andDavis (1941),andWrightandWright (1957). Black andwhiteillustrationsappear in Kennicott (1860), Stejneger (1895),Pope (1937), Stebbins (1954), Wright and Wright (1957),Fowlie (1965),and U.S. Departmentof Navy (1968). Zweifeland Norris (1955) offeredillustrationsof M. e. euryxanthusandof theholotypeof M. e. australis.Roze (1967)illustratedthecolorpatternof theholotypeof M. e. neglectus.• DISTRIBUTION.The speciesis found in the southwesternUnited States from central Arizona and southwesternNewMexico southwardinto Mexico, and possiblyeastwardto ex·tremeTexas (seeComment).The MexicanrangeextendsfromwesternChihuahuaandSonora(includingIsla Tiburon) south-9 190 290MI.a 100 200 300 KM."\IIIr-...1 '." J)\ .• I"-'tMAP. Solid symbolsshowtypelocalities;.hollowsymbolsindi-cateotherknownlocalities.The type-localityof M. e. euryxan-thusis too inexactto be indicated.r"--wardto Mazatlanin southernSinaloa.The altitudinalrangeisfrom sealevel to 1,800meters.• FOSSILRECORD.None.• PERTINENTLITERATURE.Commentson diverseaspectsofthe speciesare found in Ruthven (1907),Schmidtand Davis(1941), Bogertand Oliver (1945), Stebbins (1954), Zweifeland Norris (1955), and Shaw (1971). Bogert and Oliver(1945)commentedon the dentitionand probableevolutionaryhistory of the species.Underwood(1967) mentionedtuber-cles on the bodyscales.Stebbins(1954),Lowe (1948,1967),Werler (1960), Howes (1954), Gates (1957), Bogert andDegenhardt(1961),Zweifel (1962),and Nickersonand Mays(1970) gavegeneraldescriptionsof the habitatand data ondistribution. Generalhabits have been describedby Gloyd(1937), Lowe (1948), Woodin (1953), Kauffeld (1957),Wright and Wright (1957), and Bellairs (1970). Vorhies(1929),Lindner (1962),andVitt and Hulse (1973)describedthe food habitsand food preferences.Funk (1964)describedtheeggs.Gates (1956)cited551mmas a recordtotal lengthof the species.The actionof M. euryxanthusvenomon animalsis men-tionedby Lowe (1948)and Woodin (1953); venom,immuno-logicalstudiesand snakebiteare dealtwith by Stickel (1952),Oliver (1958),Cohenand Seligmann(1966),Russell (1967),Stevanand Seligmann(1970),and Shaw (1971). The mim-icry problemis describedby Pope (1937),Hecht and Marien(1956),Mertens(1956),andParker (1963),whereasdefensivetail displayrelatedto mimicryis describedby Woodin (1953),Stebbins (1966), Gehlbach (1972), and Greene (1973a,and1973b).Bogert (1960)describedtheabilityof M. euryxanthusto producesoundthroughvibrationof the lips of the cloaca,and providedan audiospectrogram.• REMARKS.Smith and Taylor (1950) restrictedthe typelocalityof M. euryxanthusto "Guaymas,Sonora,Mexico,"with-out substantiatingtheir action. As Guaymaslies in an areawhereintergradesbetweenM. e.euryxanthusandM. e.australismight be found,1 reject their restrictionof the type-locality,leavingit as it is givenfor the type-specimendepositedin theNational Museumof Natural History and listed by Cochran(1961).• ETYMOLOGY.The specific name euryxanthusis derivedfrom the Greek eury·,meaningwide or broad,and xanthos,yellow. It apparentlyalludesto the wideyellowdorsalbands.The subspeciesnameaustralis (Latin, southern)refersto itssoutherndistribution,and neglectus(Latin, neglected)indi-catesthe neglectedstatusof this form.1. Micruroides euryxanthuseuryxanthus(Kennicott)Elaps euryxanthusKennicott. See speciessynonymy.Micruroides euryxanthuseuryxanthus: Zweifel and Norris,1955:246. First use of trinomial.• DEFINITION.A subspeciesof M. euryxanthuscharacterizedby having42to 93 (mean69.5)red scalesi,nthevertebralrowof thebody,yellowbands3 to 5'h scaleslong,212-230ventralsin malesand 219to 245in females.2. Micruroides euryxanthusaustralisZweifeland NorrisMicruroides euryxanthusaustralisZweifel and Norris, 1955:246. Type-locality,"Guirocoba,Sonora, Mexico." Holo-type,Mus. Vert. Zool. Univ. California 50839,adult maleobtainedby R. G. Zweifeland KennethNorris on 10 Au-gust 1950(examinedby author).• DEFINITION.A subspeciesof M. euryxanthuscharacterizedby having93 to 107 (mean102.5)red scalesin the vertebralrowof thebody,theyellowbandsareusually2 to 4 scaleslong,213to 226ventralsin malesand224to 228in females.3. Micruroides euryxanthusneglectusRozeMicruroideseuryxanthusneglectusRoze,1967:4.Type-locality,"Sixteenandthreetenthmilesnorth-northwestof Mazatlan,Sinaloa, Mexico." Holotype,Univ. Michigan Mus. ZooI.114637,adultmalecollectedby William E. Duellman(ex-aminedby author).163.3• DEFINITION,A subspeciesof M. euryxanthuscharacterizedby having106red scalesin thevertebralrow of thebody,yel-low bandsfrom'h to 2 scaleslong,206and207ventralsin thetwo knownmales (no females).COMMENTThe limits of distributionof the subspeciesare not yetclearly defined. M. e. australisapparentlyintergradeswithM. e. euryxanthusin northernSonora,but a specimenfromHermosillo,Sonora,consideredby Zweifel and Norris (1955)to be an intergrade,displayscharacteristicstypical of M. e.australis. A distanceof nearly 400 kilometersseparatesthesouthernmostknown locality for M. e. australisand the stillmoresouthernform,M. e. neglectus.Old recordsof M. euryxanthusfrom Utah and Idaho areconsiderederroneous.No confirmatoryrecords have beenforthcoming,andthelocalitiesarefar outsidetheknownrangeof the species.Similarly, the validity of recordsfor EI Paso,Texas (Brown, 1950,and Mus. ComparativeZoology22645)requireconfirmationwith additionalspecimens.The EI Pasolocality is perhapsmorereasonablethan thosefor Utah andIdaho,but is well within theChihuahuanDesertregionand faroutsidetheveI:ifieddistributionof thespecies,which is largelywithin the SonoranDesert.The studyof coral snakeshas beenaidedin part by NIHGrantAC 00136,andby a grantfromtheResearchFoundationof the City Universityof New York.LITERATURECITEDBellairs,Angus. 1970. The life of reptiles. 2 vols. UniverseBooks,New York. 590p.Bogert,CharlesM. 1960. The influenceof soundon the be-haviorof amphibiansand reptiles. P. 137-320.In W. E.LanyonandW. N. Tavolga,eds.,Animal soundsand com-munication.Amer. Inst. BioI. Sci. Publ. (7) :xiii +443p.-, and W. G. Degenhardt.1961. An additionto the faunaof the United States,the Chihuahuaridge-nosedrattle-snakein New Mexico. Amer.Mus. Novitates(2064):1-15.-, andJamesA. Oliver. 1945. A preliminaryanalysisof theherpetofaunaof Sonora. Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 83:297-426.Brown,BryceC. 1950. An annotatedchecklistof thereptilesandamphibiansof Texas. BaylorUniv. Press,Waco,Texas.xii +259 p.Cochran,Doris M. 1961. Type specimensof reptilesand am-,phibiansin theUnitedStatesNationalMuseum.U. S. Natl.Mus. Bull. 220:xv+291 p.Cohen, P., and Edward B. Seligmann,Jr. 1966. Immuno-logicalstudiesof coral snakevenom.Mem. Inst. Butantan33:339-347.Cope,EdwardD. 1900. The crocodilians,lizards,and snakesof North America. Rept. U.S. Natl. Mus. for 1898:153-1294.Ditmars,RaymondL. 1908. The reptile book. Doubleday,Page& Co.,New York. 472p.- 1936. The reptilesof North America. New York. xvi +476p.East, B. 1965. New facts on deadly snakes. OutdoorLife,136(2):17-19,124-130.Fowlie, Jack A. 1965. The snakesof Arizona. Azul QuintaPress,Fallbrook,Calif. xxiii +164p.Funk, Richard S. 1964. On the reproductionof Micruroideseuryxanthus(Kennicott). Copeia1964(1):219.Gates,GeraldO. 1956. A recordlengthfor theArizonacoralsnake. Herpetologica12:155.- 1957. A studyof theherpetofaunain thevicinityof Wick-enburg,Maricopa County,Arizona. Trans. Kansas Acad.Sci. 60:403-418.Gehlbach,Frederick R. 1972. Coral snake mimicry recon-sidered: thestrategyof self-mimicry.Formaet Functio 5:311-320.Gloyd,HowardK. 1937. The ChicagoAcademyof SciencesArizona expedition,April-June, 1937. Program activitiesof the ChicagoAcad. Sciences8(1-2) :1-26.Greene,Harry W. 1973a. Defensivetail display by snakesand amphisbaenians.J Herp. 7(3) :143-161.- 1973b. Commentson aposematismand mimicry amongcoral snakes.Biologist55(4) :144-147.Hardy, LaurenceM., and Roy W. McDiarmid. 1969. Theamphibiansand reptilesof Sinaloa,Mexico. Univ. KansasPubl. Mus. Nat. Hist. 18(3):39-252.Hecht, Max K., and Daniel Marien. 1956. The coral snakemimicproblem: a reinterpretation.J. Morph. 98(2):335-366.Hensley,Max M. 1950. Results of a herpetologicalrecon-naissancein extremesouthwesternArizona and adjacentSonora,with a descriptionof a new subspeciesof theSonoranwhipsnake,Masticophisbilineatus.Trans.KansasAcad.Sci.53(2):270-288.Howes,P. G. 1954. The giant cactusforestand its world.New York, xxx +258p.Kauffeld, Carl. 1957. Snakesand snakehunting. HanoverHouse,GardenCity, New York. 266 p.Kennicott, Robert. 1860. Descriptionsof new species ofNorth Americanserpentsin themuseumof theSmithsonianInstitution,Washington.Proc. Acad.Nat. ScL Philadelphia12:328-338.Klemmer, Konrad. 1963. Liste der rezentenGiftschlangen.Elapidae,Hydropheidae,Viperidae,Crotalidae.P. 255-464.In Giftschlangender Erde. Behringwerk-Mitteilungen,464p.Lindner, Dale. 1962. Feeding observationsof Micruroides.Bull. PhiladelphiaHerpetol.Soc. 10(2-3):31.Lowe, Charles H. 1948. Effects of venomof Micruroidesupon Xantusiavigilis. Herpetologica4(4) :136.- 1967. The amphibiansand reptilesof Arizona. P. 153-174. In Lowe, C. H. (ed.) The vertebratesof Arizona.Univ. Arizona Press,Tucson,3rd. printing. 270 p.Mertens,Robert. 1956. Das Problemder Mimicry bei Koral-lenschlangen.Zool. Jahrb. (Syst.) 84:541-576.Nickerson,Max A., and CharlesE. Mays. 1970. A prelimi-nary herpetofaunalanalysisof the Graham (Pinaleno)mountainregion, Graham Co., Arizona, with ecologicalcomments.Trans.KansasAcad. Sci. 1969,72(4):492-505.Oliver, James A. 1958. Snakesin fact and fiction. Macmil-lan, New York, 199p.Parker, H. W. 1963. Snakes. W. W. Norton, New York,191p.Pope,Clifford H. 1937. Snakesaliveandhowtheylive. Vik-ing Press, New York. 238p.Roze,Janis A. 1967. A checklist of the New World venom-ous coral snakes (Elapidae), with descriptionsof newforms. Amer. Mus. Novitates(2287):1-60.Russell,Findlay E. 1967. Bites by the Sonorancoral snake,Micruroideseuryxanthus.Toxicon 5:39-42.Ruthven,Alexander G. 1907. A collectionof reptiles andamphibiansfrom southernNew MexicoandArizona. Bull.Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist. 23(23):483-604.Schmidt, Karl P. 1928. Notes on American coral snakes.Bull. AntiveninInst. Amer. 2(3) :63-64.-, and D. DwightDavis. 1944. Field bookof snakesof theUnitedStatesandCanada.G. P. Putnam'sSons,NewYork.xiii +365p.-, and RobertF. Inger. 1957. Living reptilesof the world.HanoverHouse,GardenCity, New York. 287p.Shaw, CharlesE. 1971. The coral snakes,generaMicrurusandMicruroides,of theUnitedStatesandnorthernMexico.In' Bucherl,W. and E. E. Buckley,Venomousanimalsandtheir venoms.vol. 2. Venomousvertebrates.P. 157-172.Smith, Hobart M., and E. H. Taylor. 1950. Type localities163.4of Mexican reptiles and amphibians.Univ. Kansas Sci.Bull. 33:313-380.Stebbins,Robert C. 1954. Amphibiansand reptilesof west-ern North America. McGraw-Hill Co., New York. xxii +529p.1966. A field guide of westernreptilesand amphibians.HoughtonMifflin Co.,New York. xxii +529p.Stejneger,Leonard. 1895. The poisonoussnakesof NorthAmerica. U. S. Natl. Mus. Report for 1893 (pt.2) :337-487.-, andThomasBarbour. 1917. A checklist of North Amer-ican amphibiansand reptiles. HarvardUniv. Press, Cam-bridge,Mass. 125p.Stevan,Lee J., andEdwardB. Seligmann,Jr. 1970. Agar-geland acrylamide-discelectrophoresisof coral snakevenom.Toxicon 8:11-14.Stickel,W. H. 1952. Venomoussnakesof the United Statesand treatmentof their bites. U. S. Dept. Interior WildlifeLeaflet (339):1-29.Underwood,Garth. 1967. A contributionto the classificationof snakes.British Mus. (Nat. Hist.), London. 179p.U. S. Dept.of Navy,Bureauof Medicineand Surgery. 1968.Poisonoussnakesof theworld, a manualfor useby U. S.amphibiousforces. GovernmentPrinting Office, Washing-ton. 203p.Van Denburgh,John. 1922. The reptiles of westernNorthAmerica. Vol. 2. Snakesand turtles. Occas.Pap. Cali-fornia Acad. Sci. (10):615-1029.Vitt, Laurie J., and Arthur C. Hulse. 1973. Observationsonfeedinghabitsand tail displayof theSonorancoral snake,Micruroides euryxanthus.Herpetologica29:302-304.Vorhies,C. T. 1929. Feedingof Micrurus euryxanthus,theSonorancoralsnake.Bull. AntiveninInst.America2(4) :98.Werler,John E. 1960. The pois(mousnakesof Texasandthefirst aid treatmentof their bites. Texas Gameand FishBull. 31:1-40.Woodin, W. H. 1953. Notes on some reptiles from theHuachuca area of southeasternArizona. Bull. ChicagoAcad. ScL 9(5) :285-296.Wrjght,Albert H., andAnna A. Wright. 1957. Handbookofsnakesof the United StatesandCanada.vol.2. ComstockPubl. Co., Ithaca,New York. i-ix, 565-1105p.Zim, HerbertS., and Hobart M. Smith. 1953. Reptilesandamphibians,a guideto familiar Americanspecies.Simonand Shuster,New York. 160p.Zweifel,Richard G. 1962. Analysisof hybridizationbetweentwosubspeciesof thedesertwhiptaillizard, Cnemidophorustigris. Copeia1962(4):749-766.-, and Kenneth S. Norris. 1955. Contributionto the her-petologyof Sonora,Mexico: descriptionsof newsubspeciesof snakes(MicruroideseuryxanthusandLampropeitisgetu-ius) and miscellaneouscollectingnotes. Amer. MidlandNat. 54(1):230-249.J. A. ROZE,CITY COLLEGEOF THE CITY UNIVERSITYOF NEWYORK, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10031.Primary editorfor this account,DouglasA. Rossman.PublishedDecember23,1974by theSOCIETYFORTHESTUDYOFAMPHIBIANSANDREPTILES.

Micruroides, M. euryxanthus

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Micruroides, M. euryxanthus

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