Micrurus clarki, also known commonly as Clark's coral snake and coral de Clark in Spanish, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to Central America and northwestern South America.
Etymology The specific name, clarki, is in honor of Dr. Herbert Charles Clark (1877–1960), who was Director of Laboratories and Preventive Medicine for United Fruit Company, and then was Director of Gorgas Memorial Laboratory (1929–1954), in Panama.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Micrurus clarki, p. 54).
Geographic range Micrurus clarki is found in western Colombia (Valle del Cauca Department), Panama (Darién Gap), and southeastern Costa Rica. www.reptile-database.org.
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of Micrurus clarki is forest, at altitudes of . It favors lowland rainforest and premontane wet forests but can also be found in transitional areas between wet and dry tropical forests.
Behavior Micrurus clarki is fossorial and nocturnal. Its diet mainly consist of other snakes and amphibians.
Reproduction Micrurus clarki is oviparous.
References
Further reading
Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189 pp. . (Micrurus clarki, p. 114). xii + 328 pp., 38 maps, 63 color photographs, 49 color pattern drawings. (Micrurus clarki, pp. 149–150 + Map 12 + Color 12). Savage JM (2002). The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Herpetofauna between Two Continents, between Two Seas. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press. 954 pp. . Schmidt KP (1936). "Notes on Central American and Mexican Coral Snakes". Zoological Series of Field Museum of Natural History 20: 205–216. (Micrurus clarki, new species, pp. 211–212).