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Identification Keys to Texas Snakes by Jerry Cates Atypical Texas Coral
Snakes The Texas Coral Snake has the most dangerous venom of any snake found in Texas. You don't want to take chances with this species. Don't believe the myth that it has to chew on you to get its venom into your body: that isn't true. Though their fangs are short, they are sharp and the snake's muscular jaws can sink them into your skin quickly. Which brings us to the purpose of this note. Most keys to venomous snakes tell you that the Texas coral snake has bands of black, yellow and red that completely encircle its body, that the yellow bands are narrower than the red and black bands, and that the red and yellow bands touch each other. That's fine if the snake you are examining is a typical specimen, but every species of snake, including this one, produces albino snakes (with an absence, or a deficiency, of pigmentation) approximately once in every 10,000 to 40,000 of its offspring. In an albino Texas coral snake the bands may be missing altogether, or the black bands may be gray or missing while the yellow and red bands may be normal or muted. An opposite condition of albinism, known as melanism, also occurs that produces melanistic specimens that are all-black in color. These have been found, for example, at Lackland Air Force Base, in San Antonio. Another was found near Victoria by a woman whose familiarity with Texas coral snakes convinced her the all-black specimen she found was not venomous; she picked it up and it promptly bit her on a finger, producing a dangerous bite (fortunately, she recovered). The key we provide on "Is It Venomous?" is purposely arranged to lead you through an identification process that helps you to properly identify a venomous snake whether its coloration is typical or not. That is relatively easy with the pit-vipers, but impossible with the Texas coral snake, because coloration is so important in its identification and, once in a while, you may find a Texas coral snake whose coloration is atypical. For this reason we suggest to all who come across snakes in the wild that, if the snake you find cannot be positively identified immediately, and the snake is either (A) lightly colored or without coloration or (B) totally black in color, DO NOT RISK A VENOMOUS SNAKEBITE with that snake. Treat it as venomous until you can positively identify its species. For persons using these keys for snakes found outside of Texas, we have a one-word suggestion: DON'T! These keys are for snakes within Texas ONLY. Coral snakes found in South America do not follow the pattern of banding found in Texas coral snakes. If you use these keys to attempt to determine if a South American snake (or a snake anywhere outside of Texas, for that matter) is or is not venomous, you might conclude that a highly venomous coral snake is non-venomous! The consequences of that mistake could be fatal! Return to Is It Venomous... Click Here to go to: Texas Snakes ... Bugsinthenews |
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