Lampropeltis californiae ( Blainville 1835 )

Pyron, Alexander & Burbrink, Frank T., 2009, Systematics of the Common Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula; Serpentes: Colubridae) and the burden of heritage in taxonomy, Zootaxa 2241, pp. 22-32 : 27-29

Lampropeltis californiae ( Blainville 1835)

( Figs. 1–3 )

California Kingsnake

Holotype: Unknown, collected by M. Botta.

Type Locality: ‘California’ ( Blainville 1835). Restricted to Fresno, California by Schmidt (1953).

Etymology: Specific epithet refers to the type locality.

Synonymy: This species is essentially co-terminous with the previously recognized subspecies L. g. californiae , and L. g. nigrita.

Diagnosis: The California Kingsnake ( L. californiae ) is a medium- to large-bodied constrictor, with a mean adult size range of 76–122cm, and a maximum size of ~ 200cm ( Stebbins 2003). In both sexes, ventral scale counts range from 213–255, with 46–63 subcaudal scales in males and 44–57 in females ( Blaney 1977). Scales are smooth and anal plate single, with 23–25 dorsal scale rows at midbody. The California Kingsnake exhibits one of the broadest ranges of any kingsnake species, occupying most habitats west of the continental divide at the Cochise filter barrier ( Fig. 2 ). The species ranges from Oregon in the north, through the Great Basin in Nevada and Utah, east to extreme southwestern Colorado, south through the majority of California, Arizona and the Mexican states of Sonora, Baja California Norte, and Baja Sur ( Fig. 2 ). The California Kingsnake can be distinguished from other species on the basis of color pattern, possibly the most distinct of the group. Throughout the majority of their range, California Kingsnakes exhibit a black or dark brown ground color, with 21–44 broad crossbands of white or light yellow, which typically widen laterally. Along the Pacific coast from Los Angeles to San Diego counties, individuals can be found possessing a black or dark brown ground color and a single thin, white dorsal stripe beginning at the neck and continuing to to the tail ( Fig. 3 ). Finally, populations in the Mexican states of Sonora and Sinaloa may exhibit considerable ontogenetic darkening, with adults, and occasionally subadults and even juveniles turning jet black, with almost no trace of pattern ( Blaney 1977; Stebbins 2003). To which species the Sonora populations belong is unclear; while we group them with L. californiae on the basis of geography, some authors have suggested that they resemble and hybridize with both L. g. ‘splendida’ and L. g. ‘californiae’ ( Blanchard 1921; Blaney 1977).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Chronogram showing genetic structure, geographic location, and divergence times of the five species in the Lampropeltis getula complex, from Pyron & Burbrink (2009 c). The dates and depth of the terminal triangles represent the time of the most recent common ancestor of that lineage, while the height of the triangles is proportional to the number of samples in the clade. Dates at nodes represent the mean and 95 % credible interval for that node, while numbers above branches represent Bayesian posterior probability support. Divergence times and support values are from Pyron & Burbrink (2009 c).

FIGURE 2. Range map of the five lineages recovered by Pyron & Burbrink (2009 c), corresponding to five distinct species in North America. Note the zones of sympatry between L. californiae and L. splendida, and L. nigra and L. getula.

FIGURE 3. Primary color pattern variants of five species of the Lampropeltis getula group. Many additional variants occur regionally; these are simply the primary color pattern classes of the five species. See Blaney (1977), Conant & Collins (1998), Stebbins (2003), and Krysko & Judd (2006) for more detailed descriptions of color pattern variation. Photograps of L. getula (R), L. nigra (R), L. holbrooki (L), and L. californiae are compliments S. L. & J. T. Collins, CNAH. The photograph of L. holbrooki (R) is compliments D. B. Shepard, CUNY-CSI.