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Lampropeltis pyromelana (COPE, 1866)

IUCN Red List - Lampropeltis pyromelana - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaColubridae, Colubrinae, Lampropeltini, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
SubspeciesLampropeltis pyromelana infralabialis TANNER 1953
Lampropeltis pyromelana pyromelana (COPE 1866) 
Common NamesE: Arizona Mountain Kingsnake, Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake
pyromelana: Arizona Mountain Kingsnake, Huachuca Mountain Kingsnake
infralabialis: Utah Mountain Kingsnake
G: Arizona-Bergkönigsnatter [pyromelana]
G: Chihuahua-Bergkönigsnatter [knoblochi]
G: Utah-Bergkönigsnatter [infralabialis]
G: Huachua-Bergkönigsnatter [woodini] 
SynonymOphibolus pyromelanus COPE 1866: 305
Ophibolus getulus var. pyromelanus — GARMAN 1884: 67
Ophibolus pyrrhomelas — COPE 1900: 907 (in error)
Lampropeltis pyrrhomelaena [sic] — STEJNEGER 1902: 152
Lampropeltis pyrrhomelaena [sic] — BLANCHARD 1920
Lampropeltis pyromelana — STEBBINS 1985: 193
Lampropeltis pyromelana — LINER 1994
Lampropeltis pyromelana — MATTISON 2007: 133
Lampropeltis pyromelana — CROTHER et al. 2012
Lampropeltis pyromelana — WALLACH et al. 2014: 358

Lampropeltis pyromelana pyromelana (COPE 1866)
Ophibolus pyromelanus COPE 1866: 305
Lampropeltis pyromelana pyromelana — CROTHER 2000: 64
Lampropeltis pyromelana pyromelana — CROTHER et al. 2012

Lampropeltis pyromelana infralabialis TANNER 1953
Lampropeltis pyromelana infralabialis — CROTHER 2000: 64
Lampropeltis pyromelana infralabialis — CROTHER et al. 2012
Lampropeltis pyromelana infralabialis — WIRTH 2013 
DistributionUSA (Nevada, Utah, Arizona, SW New Mexico)

infralabialis: USA (Utah); Type locality: Beaver Canyon, "Beaver County, Utah."

woodini: USA (Arizona); Type locality, "Carr Canyon, Huachuca Mountains, Cochise County, Arizona."  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesLectotype: USNM 11421, a 632–775 mm male (E. Coues, 1865), designated by Cope (1900: 908). Paralectotype: USNM 7845, a 632-775 mm male (E. Palmer, Aug. 1864), location of other(s) unknown. (see DEGENHARDT et al. 1996: 283)
Holotype: BYU 10340, adult male, collected by R. Liechty in August 1950 [infralabialis] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Snout white, rarely with flecks of black or red; white annuli on body 46 to 85. Distinguished from L. zonata and L. triangulum by its white snout and higher number of white annuli. In zonata and triangulum the snout is black or black with red markings. White annuli are fewer in all triangulum, and only a few zonata attain the minimum number in pyromelana. The distributions of pyromelana and zonata are allopatric (Stebbins, 1966). L. pyromelana and L. triangulum taylori overlap, but are readily distinguished as indicated above, and additionally by the number of ventral scales: 175-198 in triangulum, 213-238 in pyromelana. (Tanner 1983)


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CommentSubspecies: Lampropeltis pyromelana knoblochi TAYLOR 1940 has been elevated to full species status. Crother et al. 2017 listed pyromelana as monotypic, i.e. they consider the subspecies infralabialis as synonym.

Distribution: has been reported from Mexico (NE Sonora, S/W-Chihuahua), but the Mexican populations are probably all knoblochi (Burbrink et al. 2011). L. pyromelana is not included in the Mexican herpetofauna by Heimes 2016.

Similar species: Keogh (1996) could not distinguish among L. pyromelana, L. triangulum, and L. zonata.

Hybridization: KREUTZ (2005) reports hybrids between Elaphe (= Pantherophis) guttata and Lampropeltis getulus californiae, between E. (P.) guttata and L. pyromelana, between E. (P.) guttata and L. triangulum sinaloae/nelsoni, and between E. (P.) guttata and L. zonata! 
EtymologyNamed after the Greek “pyrrh” = flame-colored and “mela” = black.

The subspecies infralabialis refers to a diagnostic scale character;  
References
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  • Brattstrom, Bayard H. 1954. Amphibians and reptiles from Gypsum Cave, Nevada. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 53 (1): 8-12 - get paper here
  • Burbrink, Frank T.; Helen Yao, Matthew Ingrasci, Robert Bryson, Timothy J. Guiher & Sara Ruane 2011. SPECIATION AT THE MOGOLLON RIM IN THE ARIZONA MOUNTAIN KINGSNAKE (LAMPROPELTIS PYROMELANA). Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution 60: 445-454 - get paper here
  • Cole, Charles J.; Hardy, Laurence M. 2019. Karyotypes of six species of colubrid snakes from the Western Hemisphere, and the 140-million-year-old ancestral karyotype of Serpentes. American Museum novitates, no. 3926 - get paper here
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  • Goode, M.J. 1995. Microhabitat destruction caused by unethical collectors: effects on reptile abundance in Arizona. Sonoran Herpetologist 8 (4):32-36. - get paper here
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