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Home »» Snakes »» Colubridae (Colubrids) »» Desert Kingsnake (Lampropeltis splendida)


Desert Kingsnake (Lampropeltis splendida)STATUS





Description: The snake's glossy dorsum is black or very dark brown colored, finely speckled with off-white or yellow. These pale flecks form dimly defined narrow vertebral crossbands, between which the intervening rectangular areas are black. Pale yellow scales may predominate along the lower sides. The abdomens of both adult and young snakes are mostly black, with white or pale yellow blotches marking the outer ends of the ventral plates. The smooth dorsal scales are arranged in 23 to 25 rows at midbody and the anal plate is undivided.


Habitat: The desert kingsnake may occur in any rural habitat within its range. Despite its common name, it is most likely to be found in mesic areas, especially near water tanks or within riparian corridors.


Range: Texas, Arizona and New Mexico. In Mexico it ranges as far west as Sonora


Found in these States: AZ | CA | NM | TX


Diet: This snake is known to be a powerful constrictor; its diet consists of mostly mice if domestic, and other rodents if wild. It also can feed on reptile eggs detected beneath the surface via smell. In part because of its resistance to pitviper venom, the desert kingsnake is able to consume young diamondback rattlesnakes that are common within its range, and at the scent of L. getula even adult western diamondbacks edge hastily backward, shielding their heads with defensive loops.


Reproduction: As with most reptiles, L. splendida lays eggs. Courtship and copulation occur between March and June, with clutches of 5 to 12 adhesive-surfaced eggs deposited in late June or July, sometimes buried as deeply as a foot to prevent drying through their moisture-permeable shells. After about 60 days of incubation, the 8 to 10 inch long hatchlings, weighing about a fifth of an ounce, emerge. Brightly yellow-speckled in vertebral cross-lines, they also exhibit a lateral row of large, dark brown spots, which as they mature, are gradually fragmented by encroaching yellow flecks.


Status: Listed as Least Concern in view of the large extent of occurrence, large number of collection sites and locations, and because the species is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category.


Subspecies: Two, both in the United States:
   Mexican Black Kingsnake - (Lampropeltis splendida nigrita)
   Desert Kingsnake - (Lampropeltis splendida splendida)


Taxonomy:

»» Kingdom: Animalia - Animals
   »» Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
     »» Subphylum: Vertebrata - Vertebrates
       »» Class: Reptilia - Reptiles
         »» Order: Squamata - Scaled Reptiles
           »» Suborder: Serpentes
             »» Superfamily: Colubroidea
               »» Family: Colubridae - Colubrids
                   »» Genus: Lampropeltis
                     »» Species: Lampropeltis splendida - Desert Kingsnake

This article uses material from the Wikipedia article "Desert Kingsnake", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. Content may have been omitted from the original, but no content has been changed or extended.

 

 

 

 


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U.S. Guide to Venomous Snakes and Their Mimics     Venomous Snakebite in the Western United States     Venomous Snakes Of The Southeast     The 10 Most Dangerous Snakes in the United States and Canada



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Disclaimer: ITIS taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available, and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties. However, it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes. While every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up-to-date information available, ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the United States is a party, wildlife statutes, regulations, and any applicable notices that have been published in the Federal Register. For further information on U.S. legal requirements with respect to protected taxa, please contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 
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