You are here » home search results Lampropeltis californiae

Lampropeltis californiae (BLAINVILLE, 1835)

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Lampropeltis californiae?

Add your own observation of
Lampropeltis californiae »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaColubridae, Colubrinae, Lampropeltini, Colubroidea, Caenophidia, Alethinophidia, Serpentes, Squamata (snakes)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: California Kingsnake
S: Barila de California
G: Kalifornische Königsnatter
E: Mexican Black Kingsnake, Black Desert Kingsnake [nigrita] 
SynonymColuber (Ophis) Californiae BLAINVILLE 1835: 292
Ophibolus boylii BAIRD & GIRARD 1853: 83
Coronella californiae — DUMÉRIL, BIBRON & DUMÉRIL 1854: 623
Lampropeltis boylii var. conjuncta COPE 1861: 301
Coronella getulus var. californica — JAN 1865
Ophibolus getulus eiseni YARROW 1882
Ophibolus getulus boyli — YARROW 1883: 92
Lampropeltis boylii — STEJNEGER 1893: 204
Lampropeltis nitida VAN DENBURGH 1895: 143
Lampropeltis conjuncta —VAN DENBURGH 1895: 142
Lampropeltis boylii — VAN DENBURGH 1896
Ophibolus getulus boylii — COPE 1900: 919
Ophibolus getulus californiae — COPE 1900: 922
Lampropeltis yumensis BLANCHARD 1919
Lampropeltis getulus yumensis — KLAUBER 1931
Lampropeltis getulus boylii — FITCH 1936
Lampropeltis getula yumensis — KLAUBER 1938
Lampropeltis getula nigrita ZWEIFEL & NORRIS 1955: 238
Lampropeltis getulus yumensis — COCHRAN 1961: 188
Lampropeltis getulus conjuncta — DE LISLE 1978
Lampropeltis getulus californiae — SEUFER & JAUCH 1980
Lampropeltis getula yumensis — SEUFER & JAUCH 1980
Lampropeltis getulus californiae — STEBBINS 1985: 191
Lampropeltis getulus nigritus — STEBBINS 1985: 192
Lampropeltis getula nigrita — CROTHER 2000: 64
Lampropeltis getula californiae — CROTHER 2000: 64
Lampropeltis getula californiae — MATTISON 2007: 127
Lampropeltis californiae — PYRON & BURBRINK 2009
Lampropeltis getula californiae — LEMM et al. 2013
Lampropeltis getula californiae — LAITA 2013
Lampropeltis getula nigritus — LAITA 2013
Lampropeltis californiae — WALLACH et al. 2014: 356
Lampropeltis getula nigrita — REYES et al. 2014
Lampropeltis getula californiae — WEBER et al. 2016
Lampropeltis getula conjuncta — NCBI TAXONOMY 2016
Lampropeltis californiae — HEIMES 2016: 84
Lampropeltis nigrita — KRYSKO et al. 2017: 10
Lampropeltis nigrita — LEMOS-ESPINAL et al. 2019
Lampropeltis nigrita — LEMOS-ESPINAL & SMITH 2020 
DistributionUSA (California, S. Oregon, W/S Nevada, S Utah, Arizona
Mexico (Baja California, Sonora)

Introduced to Gran Canaria (Hilger & Kwet 2015).

Type Locality: ‘California’ (Blainville 1835). Restricted to Fresno, California by Schmidt (1953).

conjuncta: Cape San Lucas.

nigrita: Mexico (Sinaloa, Sonora); Type Locality: 49.2 km south of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.  
Reproductionoviparous. 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! 
TypesHolotype: MNHN-RA 0.732 (but erroneously said to be unknown fide PYRON & BURBRINK 2009).
Syntypes: ANSP 3573, USNM 5288 etc. [conjuncta]
Holotype: MVZ 50814 (adult male) [nigrita]
Neotype: USNM 64585, designation by Slevin and Leviton (1956). Holotype also given as CAS 800 [nitida]
Holotype: USNM 1698 [Ophibolus boylii]
Holotype: USNM 11788 [Ophibolus getulus eiseni]
Holotype: USNM 61318 [Lampropeltis getulus yumensis] 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: The California Kingsnake (L. californiae) is a medium- to large-bodied constrictor, with a mean adult size range of 76–122 cm, and a maximum size of ~200cm (Stebbins 2003). In both sexes, ventral scale counts range from 213–255, with 46–63 subcaudal scales in males and 44–57 in females (Blaney 1977). Scales are smooth and anal plate single, with 23–25 dorsal scale rows at midbody. The California Kingsnake exhibits one of the broadest ranges of any kingsnake species, occupying most habitats west of the continental divide at the Cochise filter barrier (Fig. 2). The species ranges from Oregon in the north, through the Great Basin in Nevada and Utah, east to extreme southwestern Colorado, south through the majority of California, Arizona and the Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California Norte, and Baja Sur (Fig. 2). The California Kingsnake can be distinguished from other species on the basis of color pattern, possibly the most distinct of the group. Throughout the majority of their range, California Kingsnakes exhibit a black or dark brown ground color, with 21–44 broad crossbands of white or light yellow, which typically widen laterally. Along the Pacific coast from Los Angeles to San Diego counties, individuals can be found possessing a black or dark brown ground color and a single thin, white dorsal stripe beginning at the neck and continuing to to the tail (Fig. 3). Finally, populations in the Mexican states of Sonora and Sinaloa may exhibit considerable ontogenetic darkening, with adults, and occasionally subadults and even juveniles turning jet black, with almost no trace of pattern (Blaney 1977; Stebbins 2003). To which species the Sonora populations belong is unclear; while we group them with L. californiae on the basis of geography, some authors have suggested that they resemble and hybridize with both L. g. ‘splendida’ and L. g. ‘californiae’ (Blanchard 1921; Blaney 1977) [from PYRON & BURBRINK 2009].


Additional details (173 characters) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSubspecies: GRISMER 1999 elevated Lampropeltis getulus catalinensis to full (evolutionary) species status although there is only one specimen known. The subspecies is not listed in LINER 1994.

Karyotype: Cole et al. 2019 reported the karyotype of a hybrid of Lampropeltis splendida × Lampropeltis californiae.

NCBI taxonomy ID: 165019 (conjuncta) 
EtymologySpecific epithet refers to the type locality. 
References
  • Anguiano, Michael P. and Jay E. Diffendorfer 2015. Effects of Fragmentation on the Spatial Ecology of the California Kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae). Journal of Herpetology Sep 2015, Vol. 49, No. 3: 420-427. - 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
  • Blainville, Henri Marie Ducrotay de 1835. Description de quelques espèces de reptiles de la Californie précédée de l’analyse d’un système général d’erpétologie et d’amphibiologie. Nouv. Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris 4: 233-296 - get paper here
  • Blanchard, Frank N. 1919. Two new snakes of the genus Lampropeltis. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (70): 1-11 - get paper here
  • Blaney, Richard M. 1977. Systematics of the common kingsnake, Lampropeltis getulus (Linnaeus). Tulane Studies in Zoology and Botany 19 (3-4): 47-103 - get paper here
  • 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
  • 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
  • Cope, E.D. 1860. Catalogue of the Colubridae in the Museum of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, with notes and descriptions of new species. Part II. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 12: 241-266 - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1900. The crocodilians, lizards and snakes of North America. Ann. Rep. U.S. Natl. Mus. 1898: 153-1270 - get paper here
  • Crother, B. I. 2000. Scientific and standard English names of amphibians and reptiles of North America north of Mexico, with comments regarding confidence in our understanding. Herpetological Circular 29: 1-82
  • Crother, B. I. (ed.) 2012. Standard Common and Current Scientific Names for North American Amphibians, Turtles, Reptiles, and Crocodilians, Seventh Edition. Herpetological Circular 39: 1-92
  • Drewes, Robert C. & Alan E. Leviton 1977. Rediscovery of Lampropeltis nitida Van Denburgh (Reptilia, Serpentes, Colubridae) in Baja California Sur, Mexico. Journal of Herpetology 11 (1): 102-103 - get paper here
  • Duméril, A.M.C., and G. Bibron. 1835. Erpétologie Générale ou Histoire Naturelle Complète des Reptiles, Vol. 2. Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret, Paris, iv + 680 p. - get paper here
  • Fisher, S., Fisher, R. N., Alcaraz, S. E., Gallo‐Barneto, R., Patino‐Martinez, C., López‐Jurado, L. F., ... & Grismer, J. L. 2021. Reproductive plasticity as an advantage of snakes during island invasion. Conservation Science and Practice, e554 - get paper here
  • Fisher, S.R.; R.N. Fisher, S. Alcaraz, R. Gallo-Barneto, C. Patino-Martinez, L.F. López Jurado and<br>C.J. Rochester 2019. Life-history comparisons between the native range and an invasive island population of a colubrid snake. In: Veitch et al., eds. Island invasives, IUCN, pp. 3267-331 - get paper here
  • Fitch, H. S. 1936. Amphibians and reptiles of the Rouge River Basin, Oregon. American Midland Naturalist 17: 634-652 - get paper here
  • FOSTER, C. D., J. LINDSLEY, R. ZACH, H. CHILES, R. RHEINLANDER-SMITH, AND A. GOE 2020. Lampropeltis californiae (California Kingsnake) And Masticophis Flagellum Piceus (Red Coachwhip). Diet And Large Relative Prey Size. Herpetological Review 51: 146-147.
  • Frick, W. F., P. A. Heady, III and B. D. Hollingsworth 2016. Geographic Distribution: Lampropeltis californiae (California Kingsnake). Herpetological Review 47(3): 427. - get paper here
  • Grismer, L. Lee. 1999. An evolutionary classification of reptiles on islands in the Gulf of California, México. Herpetologica 55 (4): 446-469 - get paper here
  • HAYES, MARC P. & CRAIG GUYER. 2021. LAMPROPELTIS CALIFORNIAE (California Kingsnake). PREDATION. Herpetological Review 52 (3): 668–669. - get paper here
  • Heimes, P. 2016. Snakes of Mexico. Chimaira, Frankfurt, 572 pp
  • Hilger, Axel & Axel Kwet 2015. Die Schlangenpest. Terraria-Elaphe 2015 (5): 78-81 - get paper here
  • Hollingsworth, Bradford D. and Walsh, Lorna L. 2016. Lampropeltis californiae (California Kingsnake) Diet / oophagy. Herpetological Review 47 (4): 684 - get paper here
  • Holycross, A T; Williams, C & Wiseman, K; 2019. Lampropeltis californiae (California Kingsnake) and Trimorphodon lambda (Sonoran Lyresnake) Diet and predation. Herpetological Review 50 (3): 593 - get paper here
  • Jackson, K., N. Kley, and E. Brainerd 2004. How snakes eat snakes: Biomechanical challenges of ophiophagy for the California kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula californiae (Serpentes: Colubridae). Zoology 107 (3):191-200. - get paper here
  • Jan, G. 1865. Iconographie générale des ophidiens. 14. Livraison. [Elapomorphus d’Orbignyi, Coronella getulus var. Sayi]. J.B. Bailière et Fils, Paris - get paper here
  • John, Alan St. 2021. Reptiles of the Northwest, Alaska to California, Rockies to the Coast. Second Edition, Revised & Updated. Lone Pine Publishing, Tukwila, Washington, 272 pp. [review in HR 53 (1): 165]
  • Klauber, L. M. 1931. A statistical survey of the snakes of the southern border of California. Bulletins of the Zoological Society of San Diego 8: 1-93 - get paper here
  • Klauber, L. M. 1939. A further study of pattern dimorphism in the California King snake. Bulletins of the Zoological Society of San Diego (15): 1-23 - get paper here
  • Klauber, Laurence M. 1938. Notes from a herpetological diary, I. Copeia 1938 (4): 191-197 - get paper here
  • Krysko, Kenneth L.; Leroy P. Nuñez, Catherine E. Newman, Brian W. Bowen 2017. Phylogenetics of Kingsnakes, Lampropeltis getula Complex (Serpentes: Colubridae), in Eastern North America. J Hered.: esw086. doi: 10.1093/jhered/esw086 - get paper here
  • Laita, Mark 2013. Serpentine. Abrams and PQ Blackwell, Auckland, New Zealand, 200 unnumbered pages
  • Lemm, Jeffrey M., Brett A. Gaborko and Matthias C. Lemm. 2013. Lampropeltis getula californiae (California kingsnake) elevation. Herpetological Review 44 (2): 331 - get paper here
  • Lemos-Espinal JA, Smith GR 2020. A checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Sinaloa, Mexico with a conservation status summary and comparisons with neighboring states. ZooKeys 931: 85-114 - get paper here
  • Lemos-Espinal JA, Smith GR, Rorabaugh JC 2019. A conservation checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Sonora, Mexico, with updated species lists. ZooKeys 829: 131-160 - get paper here
  • Lillywhite, H.B. 2022. Discovering snakes in wild places. ECO Publishing, Rodeo, NM, 164 pp. - get paper here
  • Lillywhite, Harvey B. 2014. How Snakes Work: Structure, Function and Behavior of the World's Snakes. Oxford University Press, New York, 256 pp
  • Lisle, H.F. de 1978. Key to the snakes of Baja California. Herpetology 9 (4): 11-20
  • Love, B. 2011. Sweet (New) Home Arizona. Reptilia (Münster) 16 (90): 14-15 - get paper here
  • Love, B. 2019. Western Herp Perspectives: Gartenfauna in Arizona. Reptilia (Münster) 24 (138): 58-59 - get paper here
  • Mattison, Chris 2007. The New Encyclopedia of Snakes. Princeton University Press
  • Murphy, R. W.; Ottley, J. R. 1984. Distribution of amphibians and reptiles on islands in the Gulf of California. Annals of the Carnegie Museum 53 (8): 207-230 - get paper here
  • O’Shea, M. 2018. The Book of Snakes. Ivy Press / Quarto Publishing, London, - get paper here
  • Peralta-García A, Valdez-Villavicencio JH, Fucsko LA, Hollingsworth BD, Johnson JD, Mata-Silva V, Rocha A, DeSantis DL, Porras LW, and Wilson LD. 2023. The herpetofauna of the Baja California Peninsula and its adjacent islands, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation status. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 17(1&2): 57–142
  • Philippen, Hans-Dieter P 2014. Vielfalt ist Trumpf. Draco 16 (57): 6-15 - get paper here
  • PIQUET, JULIEN C.; BORJA MAESTRESALAS & MARTA LÓPEZ-DARIAS. 2022. Coupling phenotypic changes to extinction and survival in an endemic prey community threatened by an invasive snake. Scientific Reports 12(1): 18249. - get paper here
  • POWERS, MICHAEL 2015. Lampropeltis getula californiae (California kingsnake): Juvenile aggregation. Herpetological Bulletin (132) - get paper here
  • Pyron, R. Alexander; Frank T. Burbrink 2009. Systematics of the Common Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula; Serpentes: Colubridae) and the burden of heritage in taxonomy. Zootaxa 2241: 22-32 - get paper here
  • Pyron, R. Alexander; Frank T. Burbrink 2009. LINEAGE DIVERSIFICATION IN A WIDESPREAD SPECIES: ROLES FOR NICHE DIVERGENCE AND CONSERVATISM IN THE COMMON KINGSNAKE, LAMPROPELTIS GETULA. Molecular Ecology 18: 3443–3457 - get paper here
  • RODRIGUES NEHEMY, IBRAHIM KAMEL; THAYLLON ORZECHOWSKY GOMES, FERNANDA PAIVA, WESLEY KAUAN KUBO, JOÃO EMÍLIO DE ALMEIDA JÚNIOR, NATHAN FERNANDES NEVES & VINICIUS DE AVELAR SÃO PEDRO. 2022. Herpeto-commerce: A look at the illegal online trade of amphibians and reptiles in Brazil. Cuadernos de Herpetología 36(2): 185–196. - get paper here
  • Rodríguez-Robles, Javier A., Good, David A., Wake, David B. 2003. Brief History of Herpetology in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, with a List of Type Specimens of Recent Amphibians and Reptiles. UC Publications in Zoology, 119 pp. - get paper here
  • SANTANA-HERNÁNDEZ, KEVIN M.; KEVIN M. SANTANA-HERNÁNDEZ, JORGE ORÓS, SIMON L. PRIESTNALL, CATALINA MONZÓN-ARGÜELLO & ELIGIA RODRÍGUEZ-PONCE 2021. Parasitological findings in the invasive California kingsnake (Lampropeltis californiae) in Gran Canaria, Spain. Parasitology148(11): 1345-1352. - get paper here
  • Seufer, H. & Jauch, H. 1980. Die Kettennatter Lampropeltis getulus Teil 2. Herpetofauna 2 (7): 31-32 - get paper here
  • Seufer, H. & Jauch, H. 1980. Die Kettennatter Lampropeltis getulus. Herpetofauna 2 (6): 11-14 - get paper here
  • STARR, SAMANTHA; CHARLES A. DROST, ANDREW T. HOLYCROSS & RANDALL D. BABB. 2021. LAMPROPELTIS CALIFORNIAE (California Kingsnake). BEHAVIOR/MALE-MALE COMBAT. Herpetological Review 52 (1): 160–161. - get paper here
  • Stebbins,R.C. 1985. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians, 2nd ed. Houghton Mifflin, Boston
  • Stejneger, L.H. 1893. Annotated list of the reptiles and batrachians collected by the Death Valley Expedition in 1891, with descriptions of new species. North American Fauna, No. 7: 159-228 (+ 14 plates + 4 maps) - get paper here
  • Van Denburgh, J.; Slevin, J. R. 1921. Preliminary diagnoses of more new species of reptiles from islands in the gulf of California, Mexico. Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. (4) 11 (17): 395-398 - get paper here
  • Van Denburgh, John 1896. Additional notes on the herpetology of Lower California. Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. (2) 5: 1004-1008 - get paper here
  • Van Denburgh,J. 1895. A review of the herpetology of Lower California. Part I - Reptiles. Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. (2) 5: 77-163 - get paper here
  • Wallach, Van; Kenneth L. Williams , Jeff Boundy 2014. Snakes of the World: A Catalogue of Living and Extinct Species. [type catalogue] Taylor and Francis, CRC Press, 1237 pp.
  • Weber, David J., Gordon W. Schuett and Melanie Tluczek 2016. A citizen science survey of the herpetofauna of Scottsdale's McDowell Sonoran Preserve, Arizona, USA. Herpetological Review 47 (1): 5-10 - get paper here
  • Werning, Heiko 2012. Die Reptilien und Amphibien des Südwestens. Draco 13 (50): 18-60 - get paper here
  • Yarrow, H.C. 1882. Description of new species of reptiles and amphibians in the US National Museum. Proc. US Natl. Mus. 5: 438-443 - get paper here
  • Zweifel, Richard G. 1981. Genetics of color pattern polymorphism in the California kingsnake. Journal of Heredity 72: 238-244 - get paper here
  • Zweifel, Richard G. 1981. Color pattern morphs of the kingsnake (Lampropeltis getulus) in Southern California: distribution and evolutionary status. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 80 (2): 70-81 - get paper here
  • Zweifel,R.G. and Norris,K.S. 1955. Contributions to the herpetology of Sonora, Mexico:Descriptions of new subspecies of snakes (Micruroides euryxanthus and Lampropeltis getulus) and miscellaneous collecting notes. American Midland Naturalist 54: 230-249 - get paper here
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:

As link to this species use URL address:

https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Lampropeltis&species=californiae

without field 'search_param'. Field 'search_param' is used for browsing search result.



Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator