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Kingsnakes are a type of colubrid snake that are members of the Lampropeltis genus, which also includes the milk snake.
Lampropeltis means "shiny shield" (from Greek λαμπρος,
"shine" + πελτα, "small shield"), due to their dorsal scales. The
majority of kingsnakes have quite vibrant patterns on their skin.
Kingsnakes use constriction to kill their prey and tend to be opportunistic when it comes to their diet; they will eat other snakes (ophiophagy), lizards, rodents, birds, and eggs. They are highly resistant to the venom of other snakes and are known to eat rattlesnakes. The "king" in their name (as with the king cobra) is a reference to their taste for other snakes and their ability to overpower other snakes. Kingsnakes are commonly kept as pets.
Some species of kingsnake, such as the Scarlet Kingsnake, 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, venom lack."
These rhymes refer to the color of the rings on the snake, and only
apply to those coral snakes found in the United States.
Taxonomic reclassification is an ongoing process, and differing 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, and therefore classification is not necessarily finite. In addition, hybridization between species which have overlapping geographic ranges is not uncommon, confusing taxonomists further.
Kingsnake Species
- Grey-Banded Kingsnake, Lampropeltis alterna (Brown, 1901)
- Lampropeltis calligaster
- Prairie Kingsnake, Lampropeltis calligaster calligaster (Harlan, 1827)
- South Florida Mole Kingsnake, Lampropeltis calligaster occipitolineata (Price, 1987)
- Mole Kingsnake, Lampropeltis calligaster rhombomaculata (Holbrook, 1840)
- Santa Catalina Island Kingsnake, Lampropeltis catalinensis (Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1921)
- Common Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula
- California Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula californiae (Blainville, 1835)
- Florida Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula floridana (Blanchard, 1919)
- Eastern Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula getula (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Apalachicola Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula goini (Neill & Allen, 1949)
- Speckled Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula holbrooki (Stejneger, 1902)
- Black Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula niger (Yarrow, 1882)
- Black Mexican Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula nigrita (Zweifel & Norris, 1955)
- Desert Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula splendida (Baird & Girard, 1853)
- Outer Banks Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula sticticeps (Barbour & Engels, 1942)
- Lampropeltis mexicana
- Lampropeltis mexicana leonis (Günther, 1893)
- Durango Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis mexicana greeri (Webb, 1961)
- Nuevo Leon Kingsnake, Lampropeltis mexicana thayeri (Loveridge, 1924)
- Lampropeltis pyromelana
- Utah Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis pyromelana infralabialis (Tanner, 1953)
- Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis pyromelana knoblochi (Taylor, 1940)
- Arizona Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis pyromelana pyromelana (Cope, 1866)
- Ruthven's Kingsnake, Lampropeltis ruthveni (Blanchard, 1920)
- Lampropeltis triangulum
- See: 'milk snake'
- Scarlet Kingsnake, Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides (Holbrook, 1838)
- Lampropeltis webbi (Bryson, Dixon & Lazcano, 2005)
- Lampropeltis zonata
- San Pedro Kingsnake, Lampropeltis zonata agalma (Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1923)
- Todos Santos Island Kingsnake, Lampropeltis zonata herrerae (Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1923)
- Sierra Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis zonata multicincta (Yarrow, 1882)
- Coast Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis zonata multifasciata (Bocourt, 1886)
- San Bernardino Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis zonata parvirubra (Zweifel, 1952)
- San Diego Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis zonata pulchra (Zweifel, 1952)
- St. Helena Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis zonata zonata (Blainville, 1835)
External links
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Reptiles 
