Sonoran Coralsnake vs. Colorado Desert Shovelnose Snake

Both are small ringed snakes of the sandy and rocky deserts of southwestern and central Arizona; they meet on the desert flats west of Tucson and Phoenix. A: Black in the Sonoran Coralsnake; cream or light yellow, with a black mask across the eyes behind it in the Colorado Desert Shovelnose Snake. B: Red touches yellow; wide red and black rings in the Sonoran Coralsnake; red saddles separated from the black bands by a margin of cream in the Colorado Desert Shovelnose Snake. C: Mostly red and black, with narrow yellow rings in the Sonoran Coralsnake; mostly cream, with black bands and red saddles in the Colorado Desert Shovelnose Snake. Brennan & Holycross: the shovelnose snakes' light snout distinguishes them from the coralsnake's black snout. The coralsnake is venomous.

Photographs via iNaturalist under Creative Commons licences; the photographers are credited on the sheet.

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