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Reptile and Amphibian Encyclopedia > Snakes > Kingsnakes

Kingsnakes

Kingsnakes are a type of colubrid snake that are members of the Lampropeltis genus, which also includes the milk snake along with another four species and 45 sub-species.

Lampropeltis means "shiny skin" (from Latin Lampro, "shine" + Peltis, "skin"), a name given to them in reference to their dorsal scales. The majority of kingsnakes have quite vibrant patterns. 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, lizards, rodents, birds and eggs. The Common Kingsnake genus are known to be immune to the venom of other snakes and are known to eat rattlesnakes (note - Kingsnakes are not necessarily immune to the venom of snakes from different localities.). The "king" in their name (as with the king cobra) references their taste for other snakes.

Kingsnakes

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

Lampropeltis calligaster

Common Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula 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

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)
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