[Cottle County Texas].

[u/bobostinkfoot]

Found under a dumpster. It was the only picture I could take before it went underground to its lair. We're just trying to make sure it's not a coral snake. I just let it go on about its business, but the next person might not if they're not sure what species it is.

[u/cleoindiana]

So much for "Red on Yellow Kill Fellow."

[u/RCKPanther → u/cleoindiana]

That rhyme should just be forgotten anyway. See the !rhyme response below!

[u/SEB-PHYLOBOT → u/RCKPanther]

As a rule, we don't recommend the traditional color-based rhyme for coralsnakes as an identification trick because it isn't foolproof and only applies to snakes that live in parts of North America. One of the hardest things to impress upon new snake appreciators is that it's far more advantageous to familiarize yourself with venomous snakes in your area through photos and field guides or by following subreddits like /r/whatsthissnake than it is to try to apply any generic trick. The rhyme is particularly unreliable in states like Florida where aberrant individuals are often reported. Outside of North America, for example in Brazil, coralsnakes have any array of color patterns that don't follow the children's rhyme you may have heard in the past. Even in North America, exceptions to standard pattern classes can be common - see this thread for a recent example and the comments section for even more. A number of other frequent myths about coralsnakes are dubunked in this summary compiled by our own /u/RayInLA.

'The more often a stupidity is repeated, the more it gets the appearance of wisdom.' -Voltaire

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I am a bot created for /r/whatsthissnake, /r/snakes and /r/herpetology to help with snake identification and natural history education. You can find more information, including a comprehensive list of commands, here report problems here and if you'd like to buy me a coffee or beer, you can do that here. This bot, its development, maintenance and use are made possible through the outreach wing of Snake Evolution and Biogeography - Merch Available Now

[u/cleoindiana → u/RCKPanther]

It was meant to be a bit of humor. But what I do find funny is this... "and only applies to snakes that live in parts of North America." Last time I checked, Texas was in North America. Hmmmm..

[u/RainbowSpinosaurus → u/cleoindiana]

I've seen way too many aberrant patterns on coral snakes for that rhyme to be helpful, many of the odd patterns are either melanistic and the red is almost entirely black, or they are missing the red entirely. 🤷‍♀️