Sam's Blog: A distinction that could save your life: How to Tell the Difference Between a King Snake and a Coral Snake

A distinction that could save your life: How to Tell the Difference Between a King Snake and a Coral Snake:

Want to know how to tell the difference between a venomous coral snake and a nonvenomous look-alike called the scarlet king snake? If you live in North America, this article will help you work out the difference.

Note: The suggestions in this article only reliably apply to coral snakes native to North America: Micrurus fulvius (Eastern or common coral snake), Micrurus tener (Texas coral snake), and Micruroides euryxanthus (Arizona coral snake), found in the southern and western United States. Unfortunately, elsewhere in the world, the patterning can be quite different and no assumptions can be made about venomous or non-venomous natures of the snake without knowing the actual snake's species.

Edit Steps

Remember these rhymes to tell the difference between the two snakes:
- Red touches yellow, kills a fellow. Red touches black, friend of Jack.
- Red touches yellow, kills a fellow. Red touches black, venom lack.
- Red touches yellow, death says hello. Black touches red, keep your head.
- Yellow touches red, you be dead. Red touches black, eat Cracker Jack.
- As you can see, there are several different variations to the rhyme. All of these rhymes only apply to The Southeastern United States. Coral snakes elsewhere do not automatically follow that rule, nor do the snakes that mimic them.
Look at the ring pattern on the snake's skin and determine if red and yellow rings are touching; if so, this is a venomous coral snake.
Look at the ring pattern on the snake's skin and determine if red and yellow rings are touching; if so, this is a venomous coral snake.
- On a coral snake, the ring pattern is: red, yellow, black, yellow, red.
- In the case of a scarlet king snake, the ring pattern is: red, black, yellow, black, red, or maybe blue.
See if the snake has a black and yellow tail. The venomous coral snake's tail has only black and yellow bands with no red. The non-venomous scarlet king snake's band pattern remains the same throughout the length of his body.
Look at the color of the snake's head and determine if its head is yellow and black or red and black.
Look at the color of the snake's head and determine if its head is yellow and black or red and black. The coral snake's head is black, whereas the scarlet king snake's head is red with a small area of black on top.

Edit Video

Edit Tips

Coral snakes have a certain pattern: R, Y, B, Y, R, Y, B...
King snakes have a similar pattern: R, B, Y, B, R, B, Y...

Edit Warnings

Coral snakes are very venomous, stay away from them.
Scarlet King Snakes aren't venomous but they can still bite you which will hurt.
Use caution whenever working, walking, resting, etc., in areas where snakes are found.