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Reptilia    Squamata (part)    Colubridae  

California Kingsnake
Lampropeltis californiae (Blainville, 1835)

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 See comments under L. getula.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.02.18.12.01.35)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 2.29 MB

Province/State Distribution:
USA: Arizona California Colorado Nevada New Mexico Oregon Utah

First instance(s) of published English names:
Boyle's Milk Snake (Lampropeltis boylei: Cooper, James G. 1869. The fauna of California and its geographical distribution. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 4():61-81); Boyle's Milk-snake (Lampropeltis boylii: Cooper, James G. 1869. The naturalist in California. The American Naturalist 3(9):470-481); Boyle's Chain Snake (Ophibolus getulus boylii: Yarrow, Henry C. 1876. List of Skeletons and Crania in the Section of Comparative Anatomy of the United States Army Medical Museum for use during the International Exhibition of 1876 in Connection with the Representation of the Medical Department U.S. Army. Army Medical Museum, Washington, D. C. pp.); Blainville's King Snake (Ophibolus californiae: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); California King Snake (Ophibolus getulus boyli: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Fresno King Snake (Ophibolus getulus eiseni: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Eisen's King Snake (Ophibolus getulus multicinctus: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Boyle's Milk Snake (Lampropeltis boylii: Van Denburgh, John. 1897. The reptiles of the Pacific Coast and Great Basin: An account of the species known to inhabit California, and Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 5():9-236); California Milk Snake (Lampropeltis californiae: Van Denburgh, John. 1897. The reptiles of the Pacific Coast and Great Basin: An account of the species known to inhabit California, and Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 5():9-236); Catalina Island Milk Snake (Lampropeltis catalinensis: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); Boyle's Milk Snake (Lampropeltis getulus boylii: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); San Lucan Milk Snake (Lampropeltis getulus conjuncta: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); Desert Milk Snake (Lampropeltis getulus yumensis: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); Lower California Milk Snake (Lampropeltis nitida: Van Denburgh, John. 1922. The Reptiles of Western North America: An Account of the Species Known to Inhabit California and Oregon, Washinton, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, British Columbia, Sonora, and Lower California. Volume I. Lizards. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco. 556pp.); California King Snake (Lampropeltis getulus californiae: 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.); Arizona King Snake (Lampropeltis getulus ymensis: 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.);

Taxon Links:

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

Selected References:
1835 Blainville, Henri-Marie Ducrotay. Description de quelques espèces de reptiles de la Californie: Précédée de l'analyse d'un systéme général d'erpétologie et d'amphibiologie. [Description of some species of reptiles from California: Preceded by the analysis of a general system of herpetology and amphibiology.] Nouvelles Annales Du Museum D'Histoire Naturelle, Paris [ New Annals of the Natural History Museum, Paris] 3(2):233-296
1919 Blanchard, Frank N. Two new snakes of the genus Lampropeltis. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (70):1-11
1920 Blanchard, Frank N. A synopsis of the king snakes: Genus Lampropeltis Fitzinger. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan (87):1-7
1936 Klauber, Laurence M. The California king snake, a case of pattern dimorphism. Herpetologica 1:18-27
1939 Klauber, Laurence M. A further study of pattern dimorphism in the California king snake. Bulletins of the Zoological Society of San Diego (15):1-23
1943 Smith, Hobart M. Another analysis of the status of the western king snakes of the getulus group. American Midland Naturalist 29(1):245-251
1944 Klauber, Laurence M. The California king snake: A further discussion. American Midland Naturalist 3(1):85-87
1970 Bury, R. Bruce, Franklin Gress, and George C. Gorman. Karyotypic survey of some colubrid snakes from western North America. Herpetologica 26(4):461-466
1971 Blaney, Richard M. Systematics of the Common Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getulus (Linnaeus) Dissertation. Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, Baton Rouge. 137pp.
1972 Baker, Robert J., George A. Mengden, and James J. Bull. Karyotypic studies of thirty-eight species of North American snakes . Copeia 1972(2):257-265
1973 Blaney, Richard M.. Lampropeltis. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (150):1-2
1975 Dessauer, Herbert C. and F. Harvey Pough. Geographic variation of blood proteins and the systematics of kingsnakes (Lampropeltis getulus). Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 50:9-12
1977 Blaney, Richard M. Systematics of the common kingsnake, Lampropeltis getulus (Linnaeus). Tulane Studies in Zoology and Botany 19(3-4):47-103
2001 Krysko, Kenneth L. Ecology, conservation, and morphological and molecular systematics of the kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula (Serpentes: Colubridae). Dissertation. University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. 169pp.
2009 Hubbs, Brian. Common Kingsnakes, a Natural History of Lampropeltis getula. Tricolor Books, Tempe, Arizona. pp.
2009 Pyron, R. Alexander. Systematics and Historical Biogeography of the Lampropeltinine Snakes (Serpentes: Colubridae. Dissertation. City University of New York, College of Staten Island, New York. 135pp.
2009 Pyron, R. Alexander and Frank T. Burbrink. Lineage diversification in a widespread species: Roles for niche divergence and conservatism in the Common Kingsnake, Lampropeltis getula. Molecular Ecology 18(16):3443-3457
2009 Pyron, R. Alexander and Frank T. Burbrink. Neogene diversification and taxonomic stability in the snake tribe Lampropeltini (Serpentes: Colubridae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 52(2):524-529
2009 Pyron, R. Alexander and Frank T. Burbrink. Systematics of the Common Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula; Serpentes: Colubridae) and the burden of heritage in taxonomy Zootaxa 2241(1):23-32
2016 Myers, Edward A., Michael J. Hickerson, and Frank T. Burbrink. Asynchronous diversification of snakes in the North American warm deserts. Journal of Biogeography 44(2):1-14
2017 Bezy, Robert L., Philip C. Rosen, Thomas R. Van Devender, and Erik F. Enderson. Southern distributional limits of the Sonoran Desert herpetofauna along the mainland coast of northwestern Mexico Mesoamerican Herpetology 4(1):138-167
2017 Krysko, Kenneth L., Leroy P. Nunez, Catherine E. Newman, and Brian W. Bowen. Phylogenetics of Kingsnakes, Lampropeltis getula complex (Serpentes: Colubridae), in Eastern North America. Journal of Heredity 108(3):1-13
2020 Hillis, David M. The detection and naming of geographic variation within species. Herpetological Review 51(1):52-56
2021 Provost, Kaiya L., Edward A. Myers, Brian Tilston Smith Community phylogeographic patterns reveal how a barrier filters and structures taxa in North American warm deserts. Journal of Biogeography 48(6):1-17
2024 Burbrink, Frank T., Edward A. Myers, R. Alexander Pyron. Understanding species limits through the formation of phylogeographic lineages. Ecology and Evolution 14(10):1-18

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Saturday 19 April 2025 21:42 CT