The small Western Coral Snake has a correspondingly small head. Adults grow only 13 to 22 inches in length with a girth about the size of a pencil. The Coral Snake is remarkable for its wide red and black bands and narrow yellow and white rings completely encircling its body. A few other snakes mimic this coloration, most notably the Scarlet Kingsnake, but the Western Coral Snake is the only snake with red bands bordered by white or pale yellow. Micrurus is the large genus of coral snakes in the Americas.
Coral snakes belong and is a genus unique to the northern forms.
The Western Coral is nocturnal in its habits and is most likely to be out and about after summer rains, when few people are present. Coral snakes are very secretive, spending most of their lives under rocks or buried in the soil. Its bright coloration serves as a warning to predators, but if provoked, it will bury its head in the coils of its body and raise its tail to expose the underside. The coral snake then everts the lining of its cloaca, making a popping sound to startle enemies. The neurotoxic effects of its potent venom cause rapid paralysis and respiratory failure among its favorite cold-blooded prey, snakes and lizards.