● Venomous · Native to Arizona, New Mexico and Mexico

Sonoran coral snake

Micruroides euryxanthus

Also called western coral snake
Data updated October 2026

Sonoran coral snake on gravel, showing broad red and black rings separated by narrow pale yellow rings
Fig. 1 — Adult on desert gravel, showing the red, pale yellow and black rings that circle the body.
Close view of a Sonoran coral snake's blunt black head
Fig. 2 — A blunt head that is black back to just behind the eyes.

At a glance

A small, slender, brightly ringed relative of cobras that lives in the deserts, grasslands and canyons of southern Arizona and western Mexico. It spends most of its life hidden underground and feeds on tiny burrowing snakes.

01

Identification

The Sonoran coral snake is small and slender, with a blunt head that is barely wider than the neck. Broad red and broad black rings alternate down the body, separated by narrow white or pale yellow rings, and the rings circle the body completely, paler on the belly. The head is black back to just behind the eyes. It is Arizona’s only member of the cobra family.

  1. 01Black head. The blunt snout and head are black to just behind the eyes.
  2. 02Complete rings. Red, pale yellow and black rings run all the way around the body, with a pale ring on each side of every red one.
  3. 03Small and slim. Rarely more than about 2 feet long, with a narrow body.

Do not rely on the rhyme about which colors touch. In this region several harmless snakes, including the western and Sonoran shovel-nosed snakes, also have red bands touching yellow ones. The coral snake’s black snout is a better clue, but the safest rule is to leave any brightly banded snake alone.

02

Size

06 in1 ft18 in2 ft Typical adult · about 18 in (46 cm)

Most adults measure 13 to 21 inches (33–53 cm). The largest recorded was about 24 inches (615 mm) long.

03

Range & habitat

Sonoran desert canyon with rocky slopes and a mesquite-lined wash
Fig. 3 — Rocky slopes, canyons and washes in the desert and desert grassland.

Sonoran coral snakes range from central and southern Arizona and extreme southwestern New Mexico south to Sinaloa in western Mexico. In the low deserts of western Arizona their distribution is patchy and poorly known. They live in arid and semi-arid country from sea level to about 5,800–6,000 ft, including Sonoran, Mohave and Chihuahuan desertscrub, thornscrub, semidesert grassland, lower woodland and farmland. They are most often found on slopes above the flats, near rocky or gravelly drainages, mesquite-lined washes and canyons.

04

Diet & predators

Sonoran coral snakes eat mainly other snakes, especially tiny burrowing species such as thread snakes (blind snakes) and black-headed snakes, along with ground snakes and other small, smooth-scaled snakes. Small lizards are taken now and then. They subdue prey with venom delivered through fixed, hollow fangs at the front of the mouth.

Feeds on

  • Thread (blind) snakes
  • Black-headed snakes
  • Ground snakes
  • Occasional small lizards

Preyed on by

  • Natural predators are poorly documented
Small thread snake on sand
Prey — thread snakes.
Small banded ground snake on gravel
Prey — ground snakes.

05

Behavior & seasons

This is a secretive snake that spends most of its time underground. It usually comes out after sundown and may stay active well into the night, but it is also seen by day after rains or on overcast days. When threatened, it hides its head under its coils, raises and waves its curled tail, and makes a popping sound by pushing out the lining of its vent. The display seems to draw attention away from the head.

It is active during the warm months and hibernates through late fall and winter. Rain often brings it to the surface, and it lays its eggs during the summer monsoon.

06

Reproduction

Sonoran coral snakes lay eggs rather than giving birth to live young. The female lays a small clutch of two or three eggs in summer, during the monsoon rains of July and August.

07

Conservation

The Sonoran coral snake is not federally listed. Because it spends so much time underground it is seldom seen, and it may be more common than sightings suggest: at Tonto National Monument, for example, it is rarely seen but thought to be fairly common. Little is known about its population trends, and its distribution in the low deserts of western Arizona is still poorly mapped.

08 — Bite safety

If someone is bitten

Sonoran coral snake bites are medically serious, and every bite needs medical care. Call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department. For guidance, call Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222. If a pet is bitten, take it to a veterinarian right away.

This page does not give first-aid or treatment instructions. Read our safety disclaimer.

Keep reading

Sources

Data updated October 2026 · How we build these pages