SUMMARY
VENOM: Toxicity unclear, not thought to be leathal, possibly mild effects in humans
PREVALENCE: Uncommon
ACTIVE PERIOD: Active at night
KEY ID FEATURES: Striking red head and tail, thin bright white stripes on the dorsum and sides, red venter, very long and thin
BEHAVIOR: Hunts on the ground and leaf litter, can be found trail side
SIZE: Medium - ~2m
OTHER: Can bite with little indication from physical posturing, very likely to bite if handled
RANGE: Found on Borneo
GALLERY
IMPORTANT: Many snakes have significant variance in coloration and pattern even within the same species. There can also be extreme differences in appearance from juveniles to adults so it is important to never assume you have properly identified a snake.
DESCRIPTION
A stunning snake to see, the Kuching or Bornean blue coral snake is a species with a bright red had and tail with deep blacks on the dorsum, bright white stripes down the back and a red venter. This species can also be quite long, approaching and sometimes exceeding 2m in length, but remaining quite thin. Their head is small relative to their body with no obvious transition between the head and neck. Their tails are relatively short with split subcadal scales and a single anal plate.
BEHAVIOR
Active nocturnally. Generally docile when approached but are very quick to bite if scared, handled, or otherwise interfered with. Normally slow and deliberate in their movement but they are capable of moving quickly when fleeing or defending themselves. When startled or threatened they will twitch wildly and bite, and can also dart quickly under leaf litter and flatten body against the ground to hide or make it difficult for predators to pick up. As with many terrestrial elapids they often hide their heads under their body if threatened and curl their tail to act as a decoy. They tend to hunt in forested areas at various elevations. It should be noted that the venom gland of this species runs from the head down the first third of the body making it capable of delivering a larger dose than its diminutive head size indicates. Venomous, but toxicity is unclear and not thought to be lethal, may even be mild in cases of human envenomation.
HABITAT
The Kuching or Bornean blue coral snake is a terrestrial species often hunting at night across its range. It can be found in forested locations where it lives and hunts in leaf littler. They are found at various elevations.
MISTAKEN IDENTITY
NO SNAKE SHOULD EVER BE HANDLED BY ANYONE BUT EXPERTS: The Kuching blue coral is quite unique in appearance but may be mistaken for the also highly venomous red-headed krait in parts of south east asia.