#cemophora

Texas Scarlet Snake (Cemophora lineri), family Colubridae, South TX, USA

Coral Snake mimic

Scarlet snake (Cemophora coccinea)

Northern Scarlet Snake (Cemophora coccinea copei), juvenile, family Colubridae, MO, USA

Coral snake mimic.

Despite first appearances from unexpecting casual observers, the Florida scarlet snake, Cemophora coccinea coccinea, is entirely non-venomous and not dangerous. It’s one of the so-called “mimic” snakes, one of the non-venomous snakes that appears somewhat similar to a venomous species, in this case the Eastern coral snake (Micrurus fulvius). I’ve been lucky enough to come across a few of these moderately shy and nocturnally-active snakes in the past year or two, but this was Eric’s first scarlet. In fact, Eric found the snake — much to his delight. What a great find, right? I so adore these tiny Florida scarlets.