Micrurus alleni, also known commonly as Allen's coral snake, the arrow-headed coral snake, and coral cabeza flecha in local Spanish, is a species of venomous snake in the family Elapidae. The species is native to Central America.
Etymology The specific name, alleni, is in honor of American herpetologist Morrow J. Allen who collected the holotype.
Geographic distribution Micrurus alleni is found in Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of Micrurus alleni is forest, at elevations from sea level to .
Diet Micrurus alleni preys on the marbled swamp eel (Synbranchus marmoratus), caecilians, lizards, and snakes.
Reproduction Micrurus alleni is oviparous.
Venom Micrurus alleni possesses a powerful venom. When "milked" in a laboratory, the average venom yield was only 3 mg (dry weight). However, the estimated lethal dose for an adult human is only 3–5 mg.Roze, J.A. (1996), p. 102, Table 7.
References
Further reading
(Micrurus alleni, pp. 5–6). xii + 328 pp., 38 maps, 63 color photographs, 49 color pattern drawings. (Micrurus alleni, pp. 139–140 + Map 6 + Color 6). (Micrurus nigrocinctus alleni, new subspecies, pp. 209–211, Figure 25).