[f. CORAL 7 b.] A name given locally to many different snakes marked with red zones; esp. the species of the genus Elaps found in the southern U.S. and Central America.
1760–72. trans. Juan & Ulloa’s Voy., I. 60. The most poisonous are the corales, or coral snakes.
1863. Bates, Nat. Amazons, v. (1864), 117. The Coral-snake … is a most beautiful object … banded with black and vermilion.
1874. T. Belt, Nat. Nicaragua, 320. The beautifully banded coral snake (Elaps), whose bite is deadly.
