False Tree Coral

About the False Tree Coral

Rhinobothryum bovallii, commonly known as the coral mimic snake or the false tree coral, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Central America and northwestern South America. The specific name, bovallii, is in honor of Swedish biologist Carl Bovallius.

R. bovallii is found in Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. The preferred natural habitat of R. bovallii is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 900 m (3,000 ft). R. bovallii is oviparous.

R. bovallii mimics two sympatric species of venomous snakes, Micrurus alleni and Micrurus nigrocinctus. Andersson LG (1916). "Notes on the reptiles and batrachians in the Zoological Museum at Gothenburg, with an account of some new species". Göteborgs Kungliga Vetenskap och Vitter Hets-Samnalles Handlingar Sjatte Foljden (Series B,4) 17 (5) [= Meddelanden fran Göteborgs Musei Zoologiska Afdelning (9)]: 1-41. ("Rhinobothrium [sic] bovallii ", new species, p. 32, Figure 4).

Freiberg M (1982). Snakes of South America. Hong Kong: T.F.H. Publications. 189... Wikipedia →