“Red on black is a friend of Jack, red on yellow kills a fellow”!
This rhyme may apply to the North American coral snake but here in the tropics a bite from either snake may be fatal. Coral snakes are found in the family Elapidae, one of the five snake families found in Guyana.
This group of snakes also includes the cobras, mambas and the Australian Taipan. Based on preliminary studies there are four species of coral snake found in Guyana. These species are from the genus Micrurus. These include the