As its name suggests, the Mexican Milk Snake is a sub-species of Milk Snake that is native to parts of Mexico. It can also be found in parts of Southern Texas.
It is a relatively small species of snake and like all Kingsnakes, it is non-venomous. This means that they are harmless to humans.
Mexican Milk Snake Taxonomy
In the Animal Kingdom, Taxonomy is used as the science and practice of classifying different species and sub-species based on their biological and genetic makeup.
Family
The Mexican Milk Snake belongs to the Colubridae or Colubrid family of snakes. This is the largest family of Snakes in the world consisting of many popular species such as Corn Snakes and Pine Snakes.
With around 250 different genera of Colubrids, these snakes can be found on every continent except Antarctica which also makes them the most widely distributed family of snake in the world.
The vast majority of Colubrid snakes are non-venomous, or at least contain a venom that isn’t considered to be medically significant to humans.
However, there are a number of species of Colubrid snakes that contain venom capable of killing humans. This includes species from the Boiga and Rhabdophis genera as well as other snakes such as the Boomslang.
Genus
The Mexican Milk Snake belongs to the Lampropeltis genus. This genus contains the New World Kingsnakes and Milk Snakes.
Some other species in the Lampropeltis genus include the Nuevo Leone Kingsnake the Grey Banded Kingsnake, the Prairie Kingsnake, the Scarlet Kingsnake and the Speckled Kingsnake.
The scientific name ‘Lampropeltis’ comes from the Greek words ‘lampro’ and ‘pelte’ which loosely translates to ‘shiny shield’. This is a reference to these snake’s smooth, enamel-like dorsal scales.
Species
They are a sub-species of Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum). There are currently 24 recognised sub-species of Milk Snake.
Many experts argue that many of the Milk Snake sub-species should be reclassified to full species status. If this happens, the Milk Snake ‘species’ might get upgraded to genera level with the sub-species reclassified as full species.
The scientific name for this species is Lampropeltis triangulum annulata.
Some of the other common species of Milk Snake include the Eastern Milk Snake, Honduran Milk Snake, Black Milk Snake, Nelson’s Milk Snake and Pueblan Milk Snake.
Mexican Milk Snake Description
The Mexican Milk Snake is a relatively small species of snake. They typically only grow to a length of 2-3 feet.
However, this is actually quite large for a Milk Snake. They also have a relatively large girth for one of these snakes.
In terms of coloration and appearance, they have a typical Milk Snake appearance with their black, red and yellow/white crossbands.
The bands of this snake are always arranged in the same order. The red crossbands are surrounded by two black crossbands.
The yellow/white crossbands are also surrounded by two black crossbands meaning the red and yellow bands never touch.
This leads to a popular saying ‘Red on Black, Friend of Jack. ‘Red on Yellow, kill a fellow’. This is used to distinguish between Milk Snakes and the venomous Coral Snake.
The Mexican Milk Snake has a black head while their bellies consist of a black and white checkered pattern.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
The Mexican Milk Snake is native to parts of North-Eastern Mexico in regions such as Coahuila, Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon. They can also be found in a small area of South-Western Texas.
These snakes like to live in semi-arid conditions and share some of their range with the Nuevo Leon Kingsnake.
Some of the habitats where these snakes can be found include prairies, open grassland and farmland.
Behaviour
Being a nocturnal species, these snakes are often encountered on roads at night as they soak up the warmth that remains on the road from the heat of the day.
They can also be active during dusk and dawn but generally retreat during the daylight hours to avoid the intense heat from the sun.
Mexican Milk Snake Diet
Like the other snakes in the Lampropeltis genus, the Mexican Milk Snake will eat almost any kind of prey small enough for it to consume if it is hungry enough.
However, the bulk of their diet consists mainly of rodents, small mammals, lizards and frogs.
These snakes will even eat the occasional snake that belongs to another species.