Kingsnake

Kingsnakes
Temporal range: Miocene – Recent
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[1]
Scarlet kingsnake (Lampropeltis elapsoides)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Reptilia
Order:Squamata
Suborder:Serpentes
Family:Colubridae
Subfamily:Colubrinae
Genus:Lampropeltis
Fitzinger, 1843
Synonyms

Ablabes, Anguis, Bellophis, Calamaria, Coronella, Herpetodryas, Natrix, Ophibolus, Osceola, Phibolus, Pseudelaps, Zacholus[2]

Kingsnake are colubrid New World constrictors, members of the genus Lampropeltis, which include milk snakes and four other species. Among these, there are approximately 45 recognized subspecies.

Etymology

Lampropeltis in Greek means "shiny shield", a name given to them in reference to their smooth dorsal scales.

Range of habitation and morphology

Kingsnake species inhabit the Americas from southeastern Canada to southern Ecuador. The several species vary widely in size and coloration. Adult scarlet kingsnakes are typically 40 to 50 cm (16 to 20 in) in length while the common kingsnake can grow to 1.8 m (6 ft). Some kingsnakes are colored in muted browns to black while others are brightly marked in white, reds, yellows, grays and lavenders that form rings, longitudinal stripes, speckles and saddle-shaped bands.[3]

Behavior and diet

Kingsnakes use constriction to kill their prey and tend to be opportunistic when it comes to their diet; they will eat other snakes (ophiophagy), including venomous snakes. Kingsnakes will also eat lizards, rodents, birds, and eggs.[4] The common kingsnake is known to be immune to the venom of other snakes and does eat rattlesnakes, but it is not necessarily immune to the venom of snakes from different localities.[4]

The "king" in the name (as with the king cobra) refers to this preying on other snakes.

Kingsnakes such as the California kingsnake can exert twice as much constriction force relative to body size as ratsnakes and pythons. Scientists believe such strong coils may be an adaptation to snake and other reptile prey, which can sustain lower blood-oxygen levels before asphyxiating.[5]

Description

The majority of kingsnakes have quite vibrant patterns on their skins. Some species of kingsnake, such as the scarlet kingsnake, Mexican milk snake, and red milk snake, have coloration and patterning that can cause them to be confused with the highly venomous coral snakes.

One of the mnemonic rhymes to help people distinguish between the coral snake and its nonvenomous lookalikes in the United States is "Red on black, friend of Jack; Red on yellow, kill a fellow." (Other variations include "Red on yellow kills a fellow. Red on black venom lack."[6][7] and "Yellow, Red, Stop!", referencing the order of traffic lights. For more, see milk snake.) It is important to note that both mnemonics apply only to coral snakes native to North America: Micrurus fulvius (Eastern or common coral snake), Micrurus tener (Texas coral snake), and Micruroides euryxanthus (Arizona coral snake), found in the southern and western United States. Coral snakes found in other parts of the world can have distinctly different patterns, have red bands touching black bands, have only pink and blue banding, or have no banding at all.

Taxonomy

Taxonomic reclassification is an ongoing process, and different sources often disagree, granting full species status to a group of these snakes that another source considers a subspecies. In the case of Lampropeltis catalinensis, for example, only a single specimen exists, so classification is not necessarily finite. In addition, hybridization between species with overlapping geographic ranges is not uncommon, confusing taxonomists further.

Predators

The Kingsnake is often preyed upon by large vertebrates such as birds of prey. Tarantula spiders also sometimes prey on the snake.[8]

Species and subspecies

Mole kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster rhombomaculata)
California kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae)
Eastern kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula getula)

Kingsnake species include:[9]

Speckled kingsnake (Lampropeltis holbrooki)

Additionally, Pyron and Burbrink have argued that the short-tailed snake, more familiar as Stilosoma extenuatum, should be included with Lampropeltis.[10]

References

  1. ↑ http://fossilworks.org/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=67553. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ Wright, A. H., and A. A. Wright. (1957). Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Comstock. Ithaca and London. 1,105 pp. (in 2 volumes) (Genus Lampropeltis, p. 330.)
  3. ↑ Powell, Robert; Conant, Roger; Collins, Joseph T. (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 375–381. ISBN 978-0544662-490.
  4. 1 2 Conant, R. (1975). A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition. Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 429 pp.
    ISBN 0-395-19977-8 (paperback). (Genus Lampropeltis, p. 201.)
  5. ↑ http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/03/snakes-constrictors-kill-predators-muscles/
  6. ↑ Life's Better Outdoors, South Carolina Department of natural resources Archived 2015-06-30 at the Wayback Machine. (see FAQ's. -- "are there any visual clues"..........). Retrieved July 15, 2015
  7. ↑ Medical-Surgical Nursing: Patient-Centered Collaborative Care   by Donna D. Ignatavicius, M. Linda Workman   (pages 141-142)
  8. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NDf2J5Mmjo
  9. ↑ Genus Lampropeltis at The Reptile Database
  10. ↑ Pyron, R. Alexander; Frank T. Burbrink. (2009). Neogene diversification and taxonomic stability in the snake tribe Lampropeltini (Serpentes: Colubridae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 52(2):524-529.
  • Hubbs, Brian (2009). Common Kingsnakes. Tricolor Books, Tempe, Arizona.
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