| California mountain kingsnake | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Vertebrata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Subfamily: | Colubrinae |
| Genus: | Lampropeltis |
| Species: | L. zonata |
| Binomial name | |
| Lampropeltis zonata (Lockington, 1835)[1] |
|
| Synonyms | |
Lampropeltis zonata, or the California Mountain Kingsnake, is a species of nonvenomous colubrid snake. It is a coral snake mimic, having a similar pattern consisting of red, black and yellow on its body, but the snake is completely harmless. As its name suggests, the California mountain kingsnake, is found mostly in the mountains of its region.
The California Mountain Kingsnake is endemic to western North America, in the Western United States and Northwest Mexico. It ranges from extreme southern Washington state, where it has a disjunct population, through Oregon and California, to northern Baja California. The majority of its range lies within the state of California, which is the reason for its common name.
California mountain kingsnakes have a banded pattern that consists of red, black and white crossbands. The bands are always arranged in the same order with each red crossband being surrounded by two black crossbands, forming what is called a triad. Each triad is separated from the next triad by a white crossband, or in some examples by a cream or yellow crossband. Some individuals may have reduced amounts of red pigment, and rare individuals may have virtually no red bands at all. One population from Isla Todos Santos always lacks the red crossbands and is instead uniformly banded with black and white, similar in appearance to the related California Kingsnake.