THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part)    Colubridae  

Gray-banded Kingsnake
Lampropeltis alterna (Brown, 1901)

Current SSAR Comments:
Based on morphology and color pattern, Hansen and Salmon (2017, Mesoamerican Herpetology 4: 699–758) assign all U.S. populations to a monotypic L. alterna. Using genome-scale data, Myers et al. (2019, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 131(2019): 211–218) reported three lineages within L. alterna, again with only L. alterna occurring in the U.S.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.11.13.16.24.38)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.96 MB

First instance(s) of published English names:
Alternating King Snake (Ophibolus alternus: Brown, Arthur, E. 1902. Report of the Board of Directors. Pages 5-22 in Thirtieth Annual Report of the Board of Directors of the Zoological Society of Philadelphia. Allen, Lane, and Scott, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. pp.); Davis Mountain King Snake (Lampropeltis alterna: Schmidt, Karl Peterson and D. D. Davis. 1941. Field Book of Snakes of the United States and Canada. C.P. Putnam and Sons, New York. 365pp.); Blair's Coral King Snake (Lampropeltis blairi: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Pertinent LIterature:
1901 Brown, Arthur Erwin. A review of the genera and species of American snakes, north of Mexico. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 53(1):10-110
1982 Garstka, William R. Systematics of the Mexicana species group of the colubrid genus Lampropeltis, with an hypothesis mimicry. Breviora 466():1-35
1998 Hilken, G. and R. Schlepper. Der Lampropeltis mexicana-Komplex (Serpentes, Colubridae): Naturgeschichte und Terrarienhaltung. pp. 97-124 Salamandra 34():97–124
2007 Bryson, Robert W., JR., Jennifer Pastorini, Frank T. Burbrink, and Michael R. J. Forstner. A phylogeny of the Lampropeltis mexicana complex (Serpentes: Colubridae) based on mitochondrial DNA sequences suggests evidence for species level polyphyly within Lampropeltis. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 43(2):674-684
2017 Hansen, Robert W. and Gerard T. Salmon. Distribution analysis, taxonomic updates, and conservation status of the Lampropeltis mexicana group (Serpentes: Colubridae). Mesoamerican Herpetology 4(4):700–758.
2019 Myers, Edward A, Robert W .Bryson, Jr., Robert W .Hansen, Matthew L. Aardema, David Lazcano, and Frank T. Burbrink. Exploring Chihuahuan Desert diversification in the Gray-banded Kingsnake, Lampropeltis alterna (Serpentes:Colubridae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 131(2019):211–218

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Thursday 30 January 2025 01:57 CT