Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake
(Lampropeltis pyromelana)
|
|
|
Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis pyromelana) |
|
Color Photograph: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Arizona "Arizona Mountain Kingsnake" Color Photograph: Jeff Servoss, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
Lampropeltis zonata The California Mountain Kingsnake has a distribution completely separated from that of the Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake. In addition the snout of the California Mountain Kingsnake is black or reddish, not white.
Micruroides euryxanthus The Western Coral Snake is a thinner species with a black snout and much wider bands.
Lampropeltis triangulum The snout of the Milk Snake populations from this region is black and the white bands tend to widen toward the belly. Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis pyromelana) Identification: Snake 18 to 40 inches in length. A banded snake with red, white, and black bands. Head with white snout and black forehead. Red contained within black bands, but its development variable from nearly continously red rings to discontinuous red bands. White bands uniform in width. Scales smooth. Anal plate single. Geographical Variation: A variable number of subspecies are recognized for this species. Collins and Taggart (2002) recognize a single subspecies for North America, the Arizona Mountain Kingsnake. Range (see map below): The Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake lives in the state of Sonora northward through southeastern and central Arizona to central Utah. Habitat: This species is found primarily in pine, pinyon-juniper, or oak woodland in the mountains, brush filled canyons, and talus slopes. Food: The Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake feeds on lizards and possibly other small vertebrates. Behavior: Little is known about the behavior of this species. Reproduction: The clutch consists of 3 to 6 eggs laid in June or July.
|
Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake
Similar Species: California Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis zonata) Western Coral Snake (Micruroides euryxanthus) Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum) |
Similar Species |
 |
