The California Mountain Kingsnake is a species of Kingsnake that is native to parts of North America. Despite its name, this snake has a wider geographical distribution than the mountains of California.
While from the same family, this is a different species to the California Kingsnake and has a very different appearance.
California Mountain Kingsnake 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 California Mountain Kingsnake 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 Milk 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 California Mountain Kingsnake belongs to the Lampropeltis genus. This genus contains the New World Kingsnakes and Milk Snakes.
The Kingsnake gets its name from the fact that they often eat other snakes, including Rattlesnakes. Similarly, the King Cobra gets its name from its tendency to also eat other snakes.
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
The scientific name for the California Mountain Kingsnake is Lampropeltis zonata.
California Mountain Kingsnake Description
The California Mountain Kingsnake is a relatively small species of snake that only grows to around 2-3 feet in length. They have a slender build and the head isn’t very distinct from the neck.
They have a red, black, and white banded pattern. Sometimes the ‘white’ pattern can be off color and appear more as a cream or yellow color.
The bands of this snake are always arranged in the same order. The red crossbands are surrounded by two black crossbands.
The white/yellow crossbands are also surrounded by two black crossbands meaning the red and white/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.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
While the largest populations of California Mountain Kingsnake can be found in the mountains of California, their range actually extends further.
They can be found in the Southern regions of the Oregon mountains and their range extends down into the mountains of California.
They can also be found in a small part of North-Western California in the Baja California region.
These snakes will live in a variety of different habitats including coniferous forests, oak or pine woodlands and scrublands.
They share some of their range with species such as the Mojave Desert Tortoise and the Rosy Boa.
California Mountain Kingsnake Diet
The California Mountain Kingsnake will feed on a variety of different animals such as rodents, birds, lizards and even other snakes.
In fact, these snakes get the name ‘Kingsnake’ due to the fact that they will eat other snakes. This is the same reason the King Cobra gets its name.
Behaviour
The California Mountain Kingsnake is a secretive snake by nature. They will spend most of their time underground or hiding under debris such as fallen logs or in rock crevices.
Although secretive, these snakes are regularly encountered throughout much of their range. This is largely due to the healthy population of these snakes within their range.
They will change their behaviour depending on the weather. At high altitudes where it is cooler, they are generally more active during the day.
However, when the weather is very hot, they will change their patterns and become more nocturnal or active at dusk and dawn, to avoid the excessive heat.