All Topics  
Kingsnake

 
Kingsnake

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Kingsnake
 
 
  Topics Kingsnake Topic Home

"Lampropeltis" redirects here. The trilobite
Trilobite

Trilobites are extinction marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. They appeared in the Early Cambrian period and flourished throughout the lower Paleozoic era before beginning a drawn-out decline to extinction when, during the Late Devonian extinction, all trilobite orders, with the sole exception of Proetida, died out....
 genus erroneously named so by Öpik in 1967 is now Lampropeltastes.


Kingsnakes are a type of colubrid
Colubrid

A colubrid is a snake that is a member of the family Colubridae. It is a broad classification of snakes that includes about two thirds of all snake species on earth....
 snake
Snake

Snakes are elongate legless carnivore reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears....
 that are members of the Lampropeltis genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
, which also includes the milk snake
Milk Snake

The Milk Snake is a species of kingsnake. There are 25 subspecies among the milk snakes, including the commonly named scarlet kingsnake . The subspecies have strikingly different appearance, and many of them have their own common names....
.

Lampropeltis means "shiny shield" (from Greek ?aµp???, "shine" + pe?ta, "small shield"), due to their dorsal scales. The majority of kingsnakes have quite vibrant patterns on their skin.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Kingsnake'
Start a new discussion about 'Kingsnake'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Recent Posts

Are black mexican king snake posiningness
Are mexican black king snakes posiningness








Encyclopedia


"Lampropeltis" redirects here. The trilobite
Trilobite

Trilobites are extinction marine arthropods that form the class Trilobita. They appeared in the Early Cambrian period and flourished throughout the lower Paleozoic era before beginning a drawn-out decline to extinction when, during the Late Devonian extinction, all trilobite orders, with the sole exception of Proetida, died out....
 genus erroneously named so by Öpik in 1967 is now Lampropeltastes.


Kingsnakes are a type of colubrid
Colubrid

A colubrid is a snake that is a member of the family Colubridae. It is a broad classification of snakes that includes about two thirds of all snake species on earth....
 snake
Snake

Snakes are elongate legless carnivore reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears....
 that are members of the Lampropeltis genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
, which also includes the milk snake
Milk Snake

The Milk Snake is a species of kingsnake. There are 25 subspecies among the milk snakes, including the commonly named scarlet kingsnake . The subspecies have strikingly different appearance, and many of them have their own common names....
.

Lampropeltis means "shiny shield" (from Greek ?aµp???, "shine" + pe?ta, "small shield"), due to their dorsal scales. The majority of kingsnakes have quite vibrant patterns on their skin. Kingsnakes use constriction
Constriction

Sorry, no overview for this topic
 to kill their prey and tend to be opportunistic when it comes to their diet
Diet (nutrition)

In nutrition, the diet is the sum of food consumed by a person or other organism. Dietary habits are the habitual decisions an individual or culture makes when choosing what foods to eat....
; they will eat other snake
Snake

Snakes are elongate legless carnivore reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears....
s (ophiophagy
Ophiophagy

Ophiophagy is a specialized form of feeding or alimentary behavior of animals which predation and eat snakes. There are ophiophagous mammals , birds , lizards , and even other snakes, such as the Central and South American mussuranas and the North American Common Kingsnake ....
), including venomous snakes,lizard
Lizard

Lizards are a large and widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 5,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains....
s, rodent
Rodent

Rodentia is an Order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing Incisors#The_Rodent_incisor in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....
s, bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
s, and egg
Egg (biology)

In most birds and reptiles, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. To enable incubation the egg is usually kept within a favourable temperature range as it nourishes and protects the growing embryo....
s. The Common Kingsnakes genus are known to be immune to the venom of other snakes and are known to eat rattlesnakes. The "king" in their name (as with the king cobra
King Cobra

The King Cobra is the world's longest venom snake, with a length that can be as large as 5.7 m . This species is widespread throughout Southeast Asia and parts of India, but found mostly in forested areas....
) is a reference to their taste for other snake
Snake

Snakes are elongate legless carnivore reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears....
s. Kingsnakes are not nesscarily immune to the venom
Venom

Venom is any of a variety of poisons used by certain types of animals. Generally, venom is injected by such means as a bite or a sting....
 of snakes from different localities. These snakes are commonly kept as pet
PET

The term pet typically refers to a pet.PET may also refer to:...
s because of their docile temperaments.

Some species of kingsnake, such as the Scarlet Kingsnake
Scarlet Kingsnake

The Scarlet Kingsnake is a type of king snake that is found in the Eastern portion of the United States, particularly Florida. It is a subspecies of the milk snake Lampropeltis triangulum....
, have coloration and patterning which can cause them to be confused with the venomous coral snakes. There are several mnemonic rhymes to help people distinguish between the coral snake and its non-venomous look-alikes, such as "If red touches black, it's OK, Jack. If red touches yellow, you're a dead fellow." and "Red on yellow, kill a fellow. Red on black, Don't kill Jack." and "If yellow follows red, you're dead." These rhymes refer to the color of the rings on the snake, and only apply to those coral snakes found in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
.

Taxonomic
Taxonomy

Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification. The word comes from the Greek language ', taxis and ', nomos .Taxonomies, or taxonomic schemes, are composed of taxonomic units known as taxa , or kinds of things that are arranged frequently in a hierarchical structure....
 reclassification is an ongoing process, and differing sources often disagree, granting full species
Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring....
 status to a group of these snakes that another source considers a subspecies
Subspecies

In biology, subspecies is the taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a species. A subspecies is a taxonomic group which is less distinct than the Common descent or species from which it originates....
. In the case of Lampropeltis catalinensis, for example, only a single specimen exists, and therefore classification is not necessarily finite. In addition, hybridization between species which have overlapping geographic ranges is not uncommon, confusing taxonomists further.

Kingsnakes are commonly kept as pets, due to their ease of care. Kingsnakes are overall hardy and simple to care for. Their captive diet usually consists of appropriately sized rodents, prekilled. Giving live rodents is an illegal offence and bad for the snakes health, the rodents are too high in fat. Kingsnakes are generally docile, curious and gentle. Kingsnakes seem to enjoy being handled. They also seemed to be mesmerized by patterns flashing on a television.

Species

  • Grey-Banded Kingsnake, Lampropeltis alterna (Brown, 1901)
  • Lampropeltis calligaster
    Lampropeltis calligaster

    Lampropeltis calligaster is a species of kingsnake known commonly as the prairie kingsnake or mole kingsnake. They are found throughout the southeastern United States, from Nebraska to Virginia, Florida to Texas....
    • Prairie Kingsnake, Lampropeltis calligaster calligaster (Harlan
      Richard Harlan

      Richard Harlan was an United States natural history, zoologist, physicist and paleontologist.Harlan was the author of Fauna Americana and American Herpetology....
      , 1827)
    • South Florida Mole Kingsnake, Lampropeltis calligaster occipitolineata (Price, 1987)
    • Mole Kingsnake, Lampropeltis calligaster rhombomaculata
      Lampropeltis calligaster rhombomaculata

      Lampropeltis calligaster rhombomaculata is a subspecies of the Prairie Kingsnake known commonly as the mole kingsnake or brown kingsnake....
       (Holbrook
      John Edwards Holbrook

      John Edwards Holbrook United States zoologist, physician, and naturalist, was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, the son of Silas Holbrook, a teacher, and Mary Edwards....
      , 1840)
  • Santa Catalina Island
    Santa Catalina Island, California

    Santa Catalina Island, often called Catalina Island, or just Catalina, is a rocky island off the coast of the U.S. state of California....
     Kingsnake,     Lampropeltis catalinensis (Van Denburgh
    John Van Denburgh

    John Van Denburgh was a United States herpetologist from California.He was born in San Francisco and enrolled at Stanford University in 1891....
     & Slevin, 1921)
  • Common Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula
    Lampropeltis getula

    Lampropeltis getula is a harmless colubrid species found in the United States and Mexico. A distinct color pattern and the common belief that this species actively hunts for venomous snakes helps to protect them from immediate death, which is the usual outcome when snakes encounter people....
    • California Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula californiae (Blainville
      Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville

      Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville was a France zoologist and anatomist.Blainville was born at Arques-la-Bataille, near Dieppe, Seine-Maritime....
      , 1835)
    • Florida Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula floridana (Blanchard
      Frank N. Blanchard

      Frank Nelson Blanchard was an United States herpetology, and professor of zoology at the University of Michigan. He is credited with identifying several new species, including the Broad-banded Water Snake, Nerodia fasciata confluens, and the Florida King Snake, Lampropeltis getula floridana....
      , 1919)
    • Eastern Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula getula (Linnaeus
      Carolus Linnaeus

      Carl Linnaeus was a Sweden botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern alpha taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology....
      , 1766)
    • Apalachicola Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula meansi
      Lampropeltis getula meansi

      The Apalachicola Kingsnake is a non-venomous species of kingsnake found in a small area of the Florida panhandle known as the Apalachicola Lowlands....
       (Krysko & Judd, 2006)
    • Speckled Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula holbrooki
      Lampropeltis getula holbrooki

      The speckled kingsnake is a non-venomous species of kingsnake found in the central to southern United States from southern Iowa to the Gulf of Mexico....
       (Stejneger
      Leonhard Hess Stejneger

      Leonhard Hess Stejneger was a zoologist.Stejneger was born in Bergen, Norway, Norway. His father was Peter Stamer Steineger who was educated in private schools and was a merchant and auditor and his mother was Ingeborg...
      , 1902)
    • Black Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula niger (Yarrow
      H. C. Yarrow

      Henry Crecy Yarrow November 19, 1840-1929) was an United States ornithologist, naturalist and surgeon.Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, studied in Pennsylvania and Geneva, Switzerland; earned his M.D....
      , 1882)
    • Black Mexican
      Mexico

      The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
       Kingsnake,       Lampropeltis getula nigrita
      Lampropeltis getula nigrita

      The Black Mexican King Snake or Lampropeltis getula nigrita is a non-venomous reptile of the colubrid family. Adults are nearly solid black although juveniles may have very small speckles of white or yellow under their chins which fade with age....
       (Zweifel & Norris, 1955)
    • Desert Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula splendida (Baird
      Spencer Fullerton Baird

      Spencer Fullerton Baird was an United States ornithology and ichthyologist....
       & Girard
      Charles Frédéric Girard

      Charles Fr?d?ric Girard was a France biologist specializing on ichthyology and herpetology.Born in Mulhouse, France, he studied at the College of Neuch?tel, Switzerland as a student of Louis Agassiz....
      , 1853)
    • Outer Banks Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula sticticeps (Barbour
      Thomas Barbour

      Thomas Barbour was an United States herpetologist. From 1927 until 1946, he was director of the Museum of Comparative Zoology founded in 1859 by Louis Agassiz at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Massachusetts....
       & Engels, 1942)
Lampropeltis Getula Getula
*Lampropeltis mexicana
    • Lampropeltis mexicana leonis (Günther
      Albert C. L. G. Günther

      Albrecht Karl Ludwig Gotthilf G?nther Fellow of the Royal Society October 3, 1830 ? February 1 1914, was a Germany-born British zoologist.G?nther was born in Esslingen in Swabia ....
      , 1893)
    • Durango
      Durango

      Durango is one of the constituent states of Mexico. Its population is 1,509,118. It has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja California Sur....
       Mountain Kingsnake,       Lampropeltis mexicana greeri (Webb, 1961)
    • Nuevo Leon
      Nuevo León

      Nuevo Le?n is a States of Mexico located in northeastern Mexico. It borders the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east and San Luis Potos? to the south, and Coahuila to the west....
       Kingsnake,       Lampropeltis mexicana thayeri (Loveridge, 1924)
  • Lampropeltis pyromelana
    • Utah
      Utah

      The State of Utah is a western United States U.S. state of the United States. It was the List of U.S. states by date of statehood admitted to the United States on January 4, 1896....
       Mountain Kingsnake,       Lampropeltis pyromelana infralabialis (Tanner, 1953)
    • Sonora
      Sonora

      Sonora is one of the 31 States of Mexico and is located in the northwest of the country....
      n Mountain Kingsnake,       Lampropeltis pyromelana knoblochi (Taylor
      Edward Taylor

      Edward Taylor was a colonial American poet, physician, and pastor....
      , 1940)
    • Arizona
      Arizona

      The State of Arizona is a U.S. state located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. The capital and largest city is Phoenix, Arizona....
       Mountain Kingsnake,       Lampropeltis pyromelana pyromelana (Cope
      Edward Drinker Cope

      Edward Drinker Cope was an United States paleontology and comparative anatomy, as well as a noted herpetology and ichthyology.Born to a wealthy Society of Friends family, Cope quickly distinguished himself as a child prodigy interested in science; he published his first scientific paper in 1859....
      , 1866)
  • Ruthven's Kingsnake, Lampropeltis ruthveni (Blanchard
    Frank N. Blanchard

    Frank Nelson Blanchard was an United States herpetology, and professor of zoology at the University of Michigan. He is credited with identifying several new species, including the Broad-banded Water Snake, Nerodia fasciata confluens, and the Florida King Snake, Lampropeltis getula floridana....
    , 1920)
  • Lampropeltis triangulum
    • See: 'milk snake
      Milk Snake

      The Milk Snake is a species of kingsnake. There are 25 subspecies among the milk snakes, including the commonly named scarlet kingsnake . The subspecies have strikingly different appearance, and many of them have their own common names....
      '
Lampropeltis Calligaster Rhombomaculata
**Scarlet
Scarlet

Scarlet or Scarlett may refer to a number of things or people:Things* Scarlet , a bright shade of red* Scarlet , a type of woollen cloth common in medieval England...
 Kingsnake, Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides (Holbrook
John Edwards Holbrook

John Edwards Holbrook United States zoologist, physician, and naturalist, was born in Beaufort, South Carolina, the son of Silas Holbrook, a teacher, and Mary Edwards....
, 1838)
  • Lampropeltis webbi (Bryson, Dixon
    James R. Dixon

    Dr. James Ray Dixon is Professor Emeritus and Curator Emeritus of Amphibians and Reptiles at the Texas Cooperative Wildlife Collection at Texas A&M University....
     & Lazcano, 2005)
  • Lampropeltis zonata
    • San Pedro Kingsnake, Lampropeltis zonata agalma (Van Denburgh
      John Van Denburgh

      John Van Denburgh was a United States herpetologist from California.He was born in San Francisco and enrolled at Stanford University in 1891....
       & Slevin, 1923)
    • Todos Santos Island Kingsnake, Lampropeltis zonata herrerae (Van Denburgh
      John Van Denburgh

      John Van Denburgh was a United States herpetologist from California.He was born in San Francisco and enrolled at Stanford University in 1891....
       & Slevin, 1923)
    • Sierra Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis zonata multicincta (Yarrow
      H. C. Yarrow

      Henry Crecy Yarrow November 19, 1840-1929) was an United States ornithologist, naturalist and surgeon.Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, studied in Pennsylvania and Geneva, Switzerland; earned his M.D....
      , 1882)
    • Coast Mountain
      Coast Mountains

      The Coast Mountains are a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southwestern Yukon through the Alaska Panhandle and virtually all of the British Columbia Coast....
       Kingsnake,       Lampropeltis zonata multifasciata (Bocourt
      Marie Firmin Bocourt

      Marie Firmin Bocourt was a France zoologist and artist.In zoology, Bocourt collaborated with Auguste Dum?ril. In 1861, he was sent to Thailand , where he explored the fauna and brought back an important collection of specimens....
      , 1886)
    • San Bernardino Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis zonata parvirubra (Zweifel, 1952)
    • San Diego Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis zonata pulchra
      San Diego Mountain Kingsnake

      The San Diego Mountain Kingsnake is a snake native to Southern California. Its state-level conservation status is "Species of Special Concern"....
       (Zweifel, 1952)
    • St. Helena Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis zonata zonata (Blainville
      Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville

      Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville was a France zoologist and anatomist.Blainville was born at Arques-la-Bataille, near Dieppe, Seine-Maritime....
      , 1835)


External links

  • Species account from the Iowa Reptile and Amphibian Field Guide