Reading the subject line on this post, most of my American friends might think I'm writing about the beautiful red, yellow, and black coral snake. Sorry, my dear friends; this is an Indian coral snake, and also a very beautiful one.



The slender coral snake, calliophis melanurus, is a species of coral snake found in India, and luckily it is also found in my state.

Because it's rare, I was never able to see this snake from the day I entered into reptile world and was very desperate to see this beauty. Finally my desperation ended happily when I met this sweet fellow on my herping two weeks ago.

The slender coral snake is a small and thin snake with the maximum length of 35 cm. This snake has a cylindrical body with smooth scales, and the color is light brown with black head and neck. The tail has two black rings. The underside of this snake is coral red, and the scales under the tail are greyish-blue and black. When the snake is disturbed, it curls up its tail. It usually feeds on blind snake/worm snake and lays 2-7 eggs under dried leaves or in crevices.

Finding this snake was so unbelievable that when my friends saw it, I asked them two or three times, "Dude, are you sure it’s a slender coral snake?” A very sweet and gentle snake, I can’t explain the level of happiness of finding this snake, but I would say that the last weeks happiness is still impacting me.

Photo: Riyaz Khoja