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Lampropeltis calligaster (HARLAN, 1827)

IUCN Red List - Lampropeltis calligaster - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaColubridae, Colubrinae, Lampropeltini, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Prairie Kingsnake 
SynonymColuber calligaster HARLAN 1827: 359
Ablabes triangulum var. calligaster — HALLOWELL 1856: 244
Ophibolus evansii KENNICOTT 1859: 99
Lampropeltis calligaster — COPE 1860: 255
Coronella evansii — JAN 1863: 237
Ophibolus triangulus var. calligaster — GARMAN 1884: 66
Coronella calligaster — BOULENGER 1894: 198
Ophibolus calligaster — COPE 1900: 905
Lampropeltis calligaster calligaster — COOK 1945: 48
Lampropeltis calligaster calligaster — CONANT & COLLINS 1991: 211
Lampropeltis calligaster calligaster — CROTHER 2000: 63
Lampropeltis calligaster calligaster — TENNANT & BARTLETT 2000: 409
Lampropeltis calligaster calligaster — CROTHER et al. 2012
Lampropeltis calligaster — WALLACH et al. 2014: 357
Lampropeltis calligaster — MCKELVY & BURBRINK 2016
Lampropeltis calligaster calligaster — GUYER et al. 2018 
DistributionUSA (E Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Western Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama)

Type locality: Missouri, restricted to ‘‘vicinity of St. Louis” by Schmidt (1953).

evansii: Illinois; Type-locality: ‘‘Central Illinois”  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesSyntype: lost, originally ANSP, one specimen ca. 1220 mm, lost fide Blanchard (1921: 116), Wallach et al. 2014.
Holotype: UMMZ 3749, syntype: USNM 1593 [evansii] 
DiagnosisAdditional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (499 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy: KLUGE 1984 listed Ophibolus evansii KENNICOTT 1859 as a synonym of Lampropeltis calligaster calligaster.

Hybridization: Lampropeltis rhombomaculata contacts and may hybridize with Lampropeltis calligaster in Northern Mississippi and elsewhere (Cook 1945, McKelvy & Burbrink 2016). 
EtymologyNamed after the Greek words kallos (beauty, beautiful), and gaster (belly) and refers to the colorful pattern of ventral scales (even though in this case the pattern may be rather faint in most specimens). 
References
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  • Bailey, Reeve M. 1939. Carphophis amoena vermis and Lampropeltis calligaster in Iowa. Copeia 1939 (4): 218-220 - get paper here
  • Baird, S. F. and C. Girard. 1853. Catalogue of North American Reptiles in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Part 1.-Serpents. Smithsonian Inst., Washington, xvi + 172 pp. - get paper here
  • Beane, J C 2019. New geographic distribution records for reptiles from North Carolina, USA. Herpetological Review 50 (3): 538-542 - get paper here
  • Bird, William; Peak, Phil; Collins, Joseph T. 2005. Lampropeltis calligaster (Prairie Kingsnake). New record length for the entire range. Journal of Kansas Herpetology (15):12. - get paper here
  • Blanchard, Frank N. 1920. A synopsis of the king snakes: Genus Lampropeltis Fitzinger. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (87): 1-7 - get paper here
  • Blaney R M 1979. Lampropeltis calligaster (Harlan). Prairie kingsnake. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles ( 229: 1-2 - get paper here
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  • Burger, R. Michael. 2013. Lampropeltis calligaster (prairie kingsnake) diet. Herpetological Review 44 (2): 330-331 - get paper here
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  • Force, Edith R. 1928. A Preliminary Checklist of Amphibians and Reptiles of Tulsa County. Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science 8: - get paper here
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