FieldHerpForum

I'd been wanting to see one of these so badly, and now I have! <insert Fred Flintstone yell here> Not much larger than a large earthworm. this Sinomicrurus macclellandi youngster was crossing a forest road Saturday night. I would have missed it, but my buddy's serpent eagle eyes didn't, so I had the wonderful chance to examine it up close. Unfortunately, my photo session was cut short by a large group of nosy night hikers coming over to see what the chunky foreigner was doing prone on the road, wielding a camera. That not only freaked out the snake, but us, too, because one of the hikers recognized the animal and started to berate us about it being illegal to catch protected reptiles in a National Park, even if only to take pictures. While that was a load of bollocks - you're just not supposed to take them home - I was in no mood to argue with the knucklehead, so I just packed up and left.









For scale:

That's a nice looking little snake. Good find!

Too bad the cockblocker had to ruin a perfect moment.

Nothing short of fantastic. Lucky guy, you are!

-Cole

Beautiful snake! Great find.



Justin

"Cockblocker" . I guess that fellow (unlike the 7-11s of his nation) was neither open nor convenient!

That's a really neat coral, of which I had never seen a picture before. Thanks and congrats on your find!

Awesome snake, amazingly pretty.

Never heard of that species before. It sure is a beauty!

Very nice!
Thanks for sharing. I enjoy your posts!

Casey Lazik

Very cool Twoton. Nice looking snake. I bet it was even prettier in person. Who the heck was that jerko anyway? I bet he doesn't know a thing about herps. He was probably just some jerko who saw an opportunity to get on a soap box or get in a fight or something. I don't know...I wasn't there. If he only knew that you taking and posting those photos helps others enjoy and gain an appreciation for them then he might have thought twice about what he said...or maybe not. You taking those photos and sharing this love of herps with others only helps to spread the desire among others to preserve the herps and other animals and their habitat. Anyway, thanks for getting whatever shots you could. Have a good one. sdm.

Thanks for the nice comments, everyone! The jerko was just that - someone with too much time and too little self-control.

Now I hope I'll also find the second Taiwanese coral snake - Sinomicrurus sauteri, endemic to the island and with stripes instead of bands. Maybe I'll find an actual adult - photographing these dinky little shoestrings at night is really stretching my meager photo skills...

Nice snake! The asian elapids are an interesting group. What is the diet of this little coral snake?

Is the other Sinomicrus in your area or further up into the mountains?

Regards,
David

Hi David,

according to a quote on my snake site, "recorded prey items included the dwarf snake Calamaria pavimentata; a worm snake, Typhlops sp.; and a ground skink, Scincella sp.". And S. sauteri occurs in my area, too.

Look at the bright side - at least someone cared about the snakes, rather than looking on them as dinner/an aphrodisiac/an evil creature to be destroyed at all costs to protect humanity.

Is something that small and a coral to boot (not a viper), capable of envenomating a person? I looked at the shoe compared to the snake and wondered.

Also, very cool photo and post.

The jerko is, is part of a "noisy" group and then threatens you (in front of a large crowd) with something that you weren't even doing; I am assuming that he also enjoyed harassing a "foreigner" in front of all the onlookers too. A photo is different than putting the snake into a bag. I doubt he was really interested in protecting the snake. People like him exist in all countries.

You have some very interesting posts. Peter B.

Thanks again!

ADDENDUM: I just came back from another cruise with the kids, during the course of which we found another (!) hatchling of this species crossing the road. Just as I was picking it up with my new, industrial-sized, mean-looking tongs to provide the kids with a closer look, a cop cruiser came down the hill on the other lane and stopped next to us. Before they could ask me anything, I said "Evening, officers! See this? That's an Asian Coral Snake, quite a rare find around these parts, and also highly protected by law here in Taiwan. The kids and me like to photograph snakes at night, y'know, and we're always traveling with these tongs, so we can help even venomous critters like this one to cross the road safely." Upon which the cops smiled, thanked me for caring for the environment, and bade us good night and good luck.

No inquisition about the collection tool. No checking the car for snake bags. No grilling about our possibly sinister purposes whatsoever.

Either they were for real, or just plain old, lazy country cops