The scarlet kingsnake looks like the coral snake because there's a survival benefit to tricking predators into thinking you're too dangerous to mess with.

But once the coral snake vanishes, why do local kingsnakes not just maintain that resemblance for decades, but intensify it?

Scientists had no idea, but now they've figured it out. Once the coral snake became extinct in the North Carolina Sandhills, they say, the risks of attacking the wrong snake diminished. Predators began to take more changes, targeting those kingsnakes who least resembled corals, and removing them from the gene pool.

But what happens now? Find out here.

Photo: kingsnake.com user coolhl7