Pliocercus elapoides

Pliocercus elapoides, also known commonly as the variegated false coral snake, is a species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to southern North America and northern Central America. There are four recognized subspecies.

Pliocercus elapoides
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Serpentes
Family:	Colubridae
Genus:	Pliocercus
Species:	P. elapoides
Binomial name
Pliocercus elapoides Cope, 1860
Synonyms[2]
Pliocercus elapoides Cope, 1860 Liophis elapoides — Garman, 1884 Urotheca elapoides — Boulenger, 1894 Pliocercus elapoides — H.M. Smith, 1943 Pliocercus elapoides — Wallach, K. Williams & Boundy, 2014

Geographic range

P. elapoides is found in Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and southeastern Mexico.^[1][2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of P. elapoides is forest.^[1]

Description

Resembling a venomous coral snake, P. elapoides has a dorsal color pattern of red, black, and yellow rings. The red scales are tipped with black.^[2]

Behavior

P. elapoides is nocturnal, terrestrial and semi-fossorial.^[1]

Reproduction

P. elapoides is oviparous.^[2]

Subspecies

Four subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.^[2]

• Pliocercus elapoides aequalis Salvin, 1861
• Pliocercus elapoides diastema (Bocourt, 1886)
• Pliocercus elapoides elapoides Cope, 1860
• Pliocercus elapoides occidentalis H.M. Smith & Landy, 1965

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Pliocercus.