Lampropeltis calligaster rhombomaculata known commonly as the mole kingsnake or brown kingsnake is a subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 of the prairie kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster)

Lampropeltis calligaster

Lampropeltis calligaster is a species of kingsnake known commonly as the prairie kingsnake.-Geographic range:It is found throughout the midwestern and southeastern United States, from Nebraska to Virginia, Florida to Texas.- Description :...

.

Geographic range

The mole kingsnake is found throughout the southeastern United States

Southeastern United States

The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....

 and Mid-Atlantic States

Mid-Atlantic States

The Mid-Atlantic states, also called middle Atlantic states or simply the mid Atlantic, form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...

, but is absent from the Appalachian Mountains

Appalachian Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...

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Description

L. c. rhombomaculata is generally light brown or gray in color, with dark brown, orange, or reddish-brown blotching down the length of its body. They are capable of growing to lengths of 30-40 inches (76.2-101.6 cm). They are easily mistaken for the milk snake

Milk Snake

The milk snake or milksnake is a species of king snake. There are 25 subspecies among the milk snakes, including the commonly named scarlet kingsnake...

 and the venomous copperhead

Agkistrodon contortrix

Agkistrodon contortrix is a species of venomous snake found in North America, a member of the Crotalinae subfamily. The more common name for the species is "copperhead". The behavior of Agkistrodon contortrix may lead to accidental encounters with humans...

, which both share the same type of habitat, and can have similar markings. Some specimens have their markings faded, to appear almost a solid brown color. Juveniles are generally more vivid in markings and coloration. They have small reddish-colored markings on the head.

Behavior

Mole kingsnakes' preferred habitat is open fields with loose, dry soil, typically on the edge of a forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

ed region. Their diet

Diet (nutrition)

In nutrition, 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. With the word diet, it is often implied the use of specific intake of nutrition for health or weight-management...

 consists primarily of rodent

Rodent

Rodentia is an order of mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must be kept short by gnawing....

s, but they will also consume lizard

Lizard

Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...

s, frog

Frog

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...

s and occasionally other snake

Snake

Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...

s. They are nonvenomous

Venomous snake

"Poisonous snake" redirects here. For true poisonous snakes, see Rhabdophis.Venomous snakes are snakes which have venom glands and specialized teeth for the injection of venom...

, and typically docile. Like most colubrid

Colubrid

A colubrid is a member of the snake family Colubridae. This broad classification of snakes includes about two-thirds of all snake species on earth. The earliest species of the snake family date back to the Oligocene epoch. With 304 genera and 1,938 species, Colubridae is the largest snake family...

s, if harassed they will vibrate their tail

Tail

The tail is the section at the rear end of an animal's body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, reptiles, and birds...

 rapidly. These snakes are very secretive and very fossorial

Fossorial

A fossorial organism is one that is adapted to digging and life underground such as the badger, the naked mole rat, and the mole salamanders Ambystomatidae...

and rarely seen above ground during the day unless they are forced out by heavy rains. Mole kingsnakes are mainly nocturnal and commonly seen on paved roads at night.