Lampropeltis nigrita
—
Western Black Kingsnake
Also known as:
Mexican Black Kingsnake
The all-black kingsnakes in the Sonoran desert have been included in Lampropeltis getula by some authors and in Lampropeltis californiae by others. They were elevated into a species of their own by Krysko et al in 2017.
We found this handsome fellow on the road at night. I tried to get in situ photos, but the snake would not stop moving and we didn't want to hang around for a long time to increase our chances of finding more snakes. This was the last snake we found, though. The next day it was a little more willing to hold a position for a few seconds.
Online references:
- Kenneth L. Krysko, Leroy P. Nuñez, Catherine E. Newman, Brian W. Bowen; Phylogenetics of Kingsnakes, Lampropeltis getula Complex (Serpentes: Colubridae), in Eastern North America
Printed references:
- Crother, B. I. (ed.) 2017. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, Eighth Edition
- Heimes, P. 2016. Snakes of Mexico
- Rorabaugh, J.C., Lemos-Espinal, J.A. 2016. A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Sonora, Mexico