Awesome explanation. I appreciate the info. Now that I think about it, seeing mtn kings in the wild, I can see that if crawling in the open, their outline would be broken up greatly among the leaves and debris on the ground.

That seems more plausible than every tricolor king/milk is mimicing a venemous coral snake. Besides, many snake predators will tackle a coral snake with the same gusto as a non-venemous snake. And now you have stated that going further, animals really do not fear a red-ringed snake any more than any other snake.

You made another excellent point - these animals have striking coloration when in an acrylic display with a black background, but this does not mean they stand out in their habitat.
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Mark

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