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

• Prairie Kingsnake, Lampropeltis calligaster (Harlan, 1827)
• South Florida Mole Kingsnake, Lampropeltis calligaster occipitolineata (Price, 1987)
• Mole Kingsnake, Lampropeltis calligaster rhombomaculata (Holbrook, 1840)

• 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 meansi (Krysko & Judd, 2006)
• Speckled Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula holbrooki (Stejneger, 1902)
• Black Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula niger (Yarrow, 1882)
• Western Black Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula nigrita (Zweifel & Norris, 1955)
• Desert Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula splendida (Baird & Girard, 1853)
• Isla Santa Catalina Kingsnake Lampropeltis "getula" catalinensis (Van Denburgh & Slevin, 1921)

• Lampropeltis mexicana leonis (Günther, 1893)
• Durango Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis mexicana greeri (Webb, 1961)
• Nuevo Leon Kingsnake, Lampropeltis mexicana thayeri (Loveridge, 1924)

• Utah Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis pyromelana infralabialis (Tanner, 1953)
• Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis pyromelana knoblochi (Taylor, 1940)
• Arizona Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis pyromelana pyromelana (Cope, 1866)

Lampropeltis triangulum

• See: 'milk snakes'
• Scarlet Kingsnake, Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides (Holbrook, 1838)

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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