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Anchor Coralsnake (Micrurus ancoralis)
Reptiles of Ecuador | Serpentes | Elapidae | Micrurus | Micrurus ancoralis
English common names: Anchor Coralsnake, Regal Coralsnake.
Spanish common names: Coral ancla, coral rey.
Recognition: ♂♂ 114.6 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. ♀♀ 148.6 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail..1 In western Ecuador, true coralsnakes (genus Micrurus) can be distinguished from most, but not all, false coralsnakes by having brightly colored rings that encircle the body (rings evident on the belly), small eyes that are about the same size as the post-ocular scales, and no loreal scale.1,2 Micrurus ancoralis is one of four species of the genus occurring in the rainforests of western Ecuador. From these, it is the only one having black body rings arranged in triads (Fig. 1).1,2 Although M. bocourti also has triads of black rings, this species occurs in dry forest areas and has a black head (red head in M. ancoralis).3 The small eyes and the presence of a red head cap separate this species from the Ecuadorian Milksnake (Lampropeltis micropholis).
Figure 1: Individuals of Micrurus ancoralis from Canandé Reserve () and Durango (), Esmeraldas province, Ecuador.
Natural history: Micrurus ancoralis is an uncommon terrestrial to semi-fossorial snake that inhabits pristine to heavily disturbed rainforests and evergreen foothill forests.1,4 This species also occurs in clearings, plantations, and rural gardens near forest borders.1,5 Individuals have been seen active on soil, leaf-litter, or crossing roads during day or at night.1,5 These snakes actively forage in search of prey, which includes snakes (members of its own species4 and those in the genera Atractus and Ninia),1,3 amphisbaenians (Amphisbaena varia),6 and caecilians (Caecilia nigricans and C. leucocephala).3,5 Anchor Coralsnakes rely on their warning coloration as a primary defense mechanism. Individuals are usually calm and try to flee when threatened. If disturbed, they engage in complex and seemingly erratic behavior: they hide the head beneath body coils, crawl spasmodically forward and then backward, and display their bright tails as a decoy.1,5 They are also capable of striking if provoked. Individuals of M. ancoralis are proteroglyphous (having fixed enlarged teeth towards the front of the maxilla) and venomous. Their venom is neurotoxic and is probably lethal to humans, but no published records of envenomation exist.
Conservation: Least Concern Believed to be safe from extinction given current circumstances..7,8 Micrurus ancoralis is listed in this category because the species is widely distributed throughout the lowlands of the Chocó and Río Magdalena valley regions, especially in areas that have not been heavily affected by deforestation, such as the Colombian Pacific coast. As a result, the species is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for a more threatened category.7 In Ecuador, nine localities of occurrence are in privately protected areas, but populations elsewhere may disappear due to large-scale deforestation. Vehicular traffic and the fear of snakes are also sources of mortality to individuals of this species. People in rural regions tend to kill any snake, particularly coralsnakes.
Distribution: Micrurus ancoralis is native to the lowlands and adjacent mountain foothills of the Chocó and Río Magdalena valley regions, from eastern Panamá, through Colombia, to western Ecuador (Fig. 2).
Figure 2: Distribution of Micrurus ancoralis in Ecuador. See Appendix 1 for a complete list of the presence localities included in the map.
Etymology: The name Micrurus is derived from the Greek words mikros (=small) and oura (=tail).2 The name ancoralis is derived from the Latin words ancora (=anchor) and the suffix -alis (=having the nature of), referring to the distinctive anchor-shaped nuchal band.2
See it in the wild: Anchor Coralsnakes are usually found no more than once every few weeks at any given area. In Ecuador, the localities having the greatest number of recent observations are Canandé Reserve, Bilsa Biological Reserve, and the immediate environs of the town Mindo. It appears that the best way to find Anchor Coralsnakes is to walk along forest trails right after sunset, especially after a warm day.
Acknowledgments: This account was published with the support of Secretaría Nacional de Educación Superior Ciencia y Tecnología (programa INEDITA; project: Respuestas a la crisis de biodiversidad: la descripción de especies como herramienta de conservación; No 00110378), Programa de las Naciones Unidas (PNUD), and Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ).
Special thanks to Eric Osterman for symbolically adopting the Anchor Coralsnake and helping bring the Reptiles of Ecuador book project to life.
Click here to adopt a species.
Author: Alejandro ArteagaaAffiliation: Khamai Foundation, Quito, Ecuador.
Photographer: Jose VieiraaAffiliation: Tropical Herping (TH), Quito, Ecuador.,bAffiliation: ExSitu, Quito, Ecuador.
How to cite? Arteaga A (2021) Anchor Coralsnake (Micrurus ancoralis). In: Arteaga A, Bustamante L, Vieira J (Eds) Reptiles of Ecuador: Life in the middle of the world. Available from: www.reptilesofecuador.com. DOI: 10.47051/ROYJ3686
Literature cited:
- Valencia JH, Garzón-Tello K, Barragán-Paladines ME (2016) Serpientes venenosas del Ecuador: sistemática, taxonomía, historial natural, conservación, envenenamiento y aspectos antropológicos. Fundación Herpetológica Gustavo Orcés, Quito, 653 pp.
- Campbell JA, Lamar WW (2004) The venomous reptiles of the western hemisphere. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 774 pp.
- Roze JA (1996) Coral snakes of the Americas: biology, indentification, and venoms. Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, 328 pp.
- Arteaga A, Bustamante L, Guayasamin JM (2013) The amphibians and reptiles of Mindo. Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica, Quito, 257 pp.
- Field notes, Reptiles of Ecuador book project.
- Cisneros-Heredia DF (2005) Predation upon Amphisbaena fuliginosa LINNAEUS, 1758 by Micrurus ancoralis (JAN, 1872). Herpetozoa 18: 93–94.
- Ibáñez R, Jaramillo C, Renjifo J, Cisneros-Heredia DF, Bolívar W, Velasco J (2017) Micrurus ancoralis. The IUCN Red List of threatened species. Available from: www.iucnredlist.org. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-2.RLTS.T203623A2769193.en
- Reyes-Puig C (2015) Un método integrativo para evaluar el estado de conservación de las especies y su aplicación a los reptiles del Ecuador. MSc thesis, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, 73 pp.
Appendix 1: Locality data used to create the distribution map of Micrurus ancoralis in Ecuador (Fig. 2). Go to the section on symbols and abbreviations for a list of acronyms used.
| Country | Province | Locality | Source |
| Colombia | Nariño | Mallama | Photo by Darwin Martínez |
| Colombia | Nariño | Ricaurte, 9 km SE of | KU 169965 |
| Ecuador | Azuay | Puente de Chaucha | Photo by Fausto Siavichay |
| Ecuador | Azuay | Río Patul | This work |
| Ecuador | Azuay | Tansaray | This work |
| Ecuador | Bolívar | Balzapamba | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Carchi | Casa Grande Eco Lodge | iNaturalist |
| Ecuador | Carchi | Gualtal | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Carchi | Peñas Blancas | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Carchi | Tobar Donoso | Samec & Samec 1988 |
| Ecuador | Chimborazo | Bucay, 31 km E of | UF 45668 |
| Ecuador | Chimborazo | Puente sobre el Río Chimbo | Boulenger 1898 |
| Ecuador | Cotopaxi | Galápagos | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Cotopaxi | Las Damas | MHNG 2458.045 |
| Ecuador | Cotopaxi | Palo Quemado | MHNG 2307.042 |
| Ecuador | Cotopaxi | San Francisco de Las Pampas | Arteaga et al. 2013 |
| Ecuador | El Oro | Balsas | MHNG 2398.100 |
| Ecuador | El Oro | Santa Rosa | USNM 286113 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Bilsa Biological Reserve | Ortega-Andrade et al. 2010 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Borbón | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Bulim (=Pulún) | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Canandé Reserve | This work |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Carondelet | Morales-Mite 2004 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Carondelet, 7.5 km NW of | iNaturalist |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Durango | Arteaga et al. 2013 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Hacienda el Cielo | Cisneros-Heredia 2005 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Mataje | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Playa de Oro | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Quinindé | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Quinindé, 10 km SE of | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Reserva Pambilar | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Río Soberano | USNM 232407 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | San Javier | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | San Lorenzo | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | San Miguel de Cayapas | Arteaga et al. 2013 |
| Ecuador | Guayas | Guayaquil | USNM 12267 |
| Ecuador | Imbabura | Finca La Cascada | iNaturalist |
| Ecuador | Imbabura | Hacienda Rocafuerte | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Imbabura | Paramba | Boulenger 1898 |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Pambilar | MNHN 1901.468 |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Ventanas | This work |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Jama | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Santa Ana | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Alambi | This work |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Alluriquín | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Calacali–Nanegalito road | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Finca Elenita | This work |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Hacienda La Hesperia | Brouwer 2018 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Hostería Yellow House | This work |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Mashpi Reserve | This work |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Milpe Bird Sanctuary | This work |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Mindo Garden | This work |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Nanegal | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Pachijal | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Pampas Argentinas | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Pedro Vicente Maldonado | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Puerto Quito | Arteaga et al. 2013 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Río Blanco | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | San Miguel de los Bancos | MHNG 2220.028 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Séptimo Paraíso Lodge | This work |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Tandapi | Valencia et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | La Florida | MHNG 2307.037 |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Palmar del Pimbe | Arteaga et al. 2013 |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Santo Domingo | Arteaga et al. 2013 |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Santo Domingo, 26 km S of | Valencia et al. 2016 |