The Eastern Black Kingsnake is a medium sized kingsnake that is black in colour with faint white or yellow speckling.
These snakes have a large distribution in the Eastern United States and can be found in a variety of different habitats.
Eastern Black 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 Eastern Black 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 Black 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 Eastern Black Kingsnake is Lampropeltis nigra.
Eastern Black Kingsnake Description
The Eastern Black Kingsnake is a medium sized snake that typically grows to around 3 or 4 foot in length, although they can grow larger. They also have the typical slender build of a Kingsnake.
The vast majority of this snake is black but it does have some yellow or cream-colored speckling. These speckles are nowhere near as obvious as the ones on the Speckled Kingsnake.
The Black Kingsnake has some similarities to other Kingsnakes, including the Common Kingsnake and the Mexican Black Kingsnake but there are also very noticeable differences.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
The Eastern Black Kingsnake is native to the South-Eastern United States. To the north, it can be found in Southern Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
In the Western portion of their range, they can be found in states such as Missouri, Arkansas and Louisiana. Their range extends eastwards but doesn’t reach the coast.
Some of the other states where the Eastern Black Kingsnake can be found include Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia.
The Black Kingsnake is commonly encountered by humans as their populations are very healthy throughout much of their range.
These snakes will live in a wide variety of different habitats including abandoned farmsteads, debris piles, edges of floodplains, and thick brush around streams and swamps.
They share some of its range with other species such as the Eastern Fox Snake, the Ornate Box Turtle and the Rough Green Snake.