Range in California: Green
Click the map for a guide
to the other subspecies
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The SSAR, whose list is used here, does not recognize any subspecies of Lampropeltis zonata - California Mountain Kingsnake,
but the traditional subspecies names are still used by some herpetologists and most snake enthusiasts and herpetoculturists.
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Adult Tuolumne County |
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Adult underside, Tuolumne County |
Adult, El Dorado County.
© Chad M. Lane |
Adult, Tuolumne County |
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Adult, Tuolumne County |
Adult, Tuolumne County © Nick Esquivel |
Axanthic adult, El Dorado County Specimen Courtesy of Tim Burkhardt
© 2002 Brad Alexander |
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| Adult, El Dorado County. © Chad M. Lane |
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Adult eating a juvenile Northern Pacific Rattlesnake, Fresno County
© Patrick Briggs |
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| Intergrades |
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Adult, Kern County |
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Habitat |
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Habitat, Tuolumne County
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Habitat, Tuolumne County |
Habitat, Kern County |
| Short Video |
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A short look at a juvenile California Mountain Kingsnake found under a rock. |
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Description |
Nonvenomous |
| Considered harmless to humans. (There are no venomous snakes in California that can be mistaken for this snake, but the similar-looking Arizona Coral Snake, found in Arizona, is venomous and dangerous.) |
| Size |
| Adults measure 24 - 47 inches long (61 - 119 cm.) Most adults are 24 - 36 inches long (61 - 91 cm.) Hatchlings are 8 - 12 inches in length (20 - 30 cm.) |
| Appearance |
A medium-sized slender snake with a head not much wider than the cylindrical body with smooth shiny scales. The scale count at mid-body is usually 21 - 23..
Black, red, and white or yellowish rings circle the body. The red bands are much wider than the black and white bands. Some black bands may widen and cross over the red bands on the back. Occasionally there will be little red visible, especially in the central high Sierras near Yosemite National Park. Black and white snakes are sometimes found. A red band surrounded by two black bands is referred to as a "triad." Typically, fewer than 60 percent of the triads have complete red bands with no black crossovers. On this subspecies there are 19 - 48 triads, with an average of 35. The bands continue across the belly, but the coloring is paler, more faded in appearance, and the bands are more irregular, often encroaching into adjacent bands. The nose is black. The rear edge of the first white band on the head is located behind the corner of the mouth. |
| Behavior |
Secretive, but not rare in suitable habitat. Spends most of the time underground, under surface objects, or inside rock crevices. Occasionally seen active on the ground in the daytime, especially near shaded streams on hot sunny days. Active during the day at high altitudes during times of low nighttime temperatures (which is typical habitat.) When temperatures are more moderate, it can be crepuscular, nocturnal, and diurnal. During very hot weather, activity is primarily nocturnal. This snake is normally active at temperatures between aproximately 55 - 85 degrees.
Enters into winter hibernation typically around November, emerging some time from February to April, depending on location and weather conditions. |
| Diet |
| Eats lizards, small mammals, nestling birds, bird eggs, amphibians, and occasionally snakes, including its own species. |
| Reproduction |
| Breeding takes place a few weeks after emergence in the spring. Eggs are laid June-July and hatch after 50 - 65 days. |
| Range |
| Ranges from Ventura County north of Lockwood Valley north through the Tehachapi Mountains and the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Tehama County, where a very large intergrade range with the Saint Helena Mountain Kingsnake - L. z. zonata begins. The area from Ventura County to Tulare County may also be an intergrade range with the Coast Mountain Kingsnake - L. z. multifasciata. Reported but unconfirmed from eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, from the White Mountains, and from Lassen County. |
| Habitat |
| A habitat generalist, found in diverse habitats including coniferous forest, oak-pine woodlands, riparian woodland, chaparral, and manzanita. Wooded areas near a stream with rock outcrops, talus or rotting logs that are exposed to the sun are good places to find this snake. From 1,500 - 8,000 ft. ( 457 - 2,440 m). Most common from 3,000 - 4,500 ft. (914 - 1,372 m). |
| Taxonomic Notes |
Rodriguez-Robles, Denardo and Staub (1999 Molecular Ecology 8: 1923-1934) Publication #19 have called into question the recognition of 7 subspecies of Lampropeltis zonata, but not the existence of any subspecies:
"Examination of colour pattern variation in 321 living and preserved specimens indicated that the two main colour pattern characters used to define the subspecies are so variable that they cannot be reliably used to differentiate taxonomic units within this complex, which calls into question the recognition of 7 geographical races of this snake."
Mitochondrial DNA studies found 2 clades of L. zonata, a southern clade from Baja California and southern California, and a northern clade comprised of two subclades - a coastal subclade from the central coast and southern Sierra Nevada Mountains, and a northerneastern subclade of populations north of the San Francisco Bay and most of the Sierra Nevada.
The SSAR, whose taxonomy we follow on this website, does not recognize any subspecies of L. zonata but I will continue to treat separately the 5 traditionally-recognized subspecies found in California to illustrate some of the regional variations found in this snake. |
| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
When slabs are torn off rock outcrops by someone searching for this snake or other reptiles, the habitat this snake uses for refuge is irreparably damaged. It takes thousands of years for this rock fissuring to occur, so this habitat will not be replaced for many centuries. Such rock destruction is illegal in California: "It is unlawful to use any method or means of collecting that involves breaking apart of rocks, granite flakes, logs or other shelters in or under which reptiles may be found." (2007 regulations 5.60.4.)
Reptile hunters are usually blamed for rock habitat destruction, but bulldozers are far more destructive. I have also witnessed people tearing off huge slabs of granite with a crowbar then carrying the slabs back to their truck to haul them away. |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Colubridae |
Colubrids |
| Genus |
Lampropeltis |
Kingsnakes and Milksnakes |
| Species |
zonata |
California Mountain Kingsnake |
Subspecies
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multicincta |
Sierra Mountain Kingsnake |
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Original Description |
Lampropeltis zonata - (Lockington, 1876 ex Blainville, 1835) - Proc. California Acad. Sci., Vol. 7, p. 52 ex Blainville, Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris., Ser. 3, Vol. 4, p. 293
Lampropeltis zonata multicincta - (Yarrow, 1882) - Proc. U.S. Natl. Mus., Vol. 5, p. 440
from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
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Meaning of the Scientific Name |
Lampropeltis - Greek - lampros - shiny and pelta - shield - referring to the smooth, shiny dorsal scales characteristic of this genus
zonata - Greek - zonata banded - refers to the black banding
multicincta - Latin - multi - many and cincta - banded - refers to the banded dorsal pattern
from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
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Alternate Names |
Lampropeltis zonata - California Mountain Kingsnake
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Related or Similar California Snakes |
L. z. multifasciata - Coast Mountain Kingsnake
L. z. parvirubra - San Bernardino Mountain Kingsnake
L. z. pulchra - San Diego Mountain Kingsnake
L. z. zonata - St. Helena Mountain Kingsnake
L. g. californiae -California Kingsnake
Rhinocheilus lecontei -Long-nosed Snake
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More Information and References |
Natureserve Explorer
California Dept. of Fish and Game
Rodriguez-Robles,Denardo and Staub (1999 Molecular Ecology 8: 1923-1934) Publication #19
Stebbins, Robert C. A Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians. 3rd Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003.
Behler, John L., and F. Wayne King. The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians. Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
Powell, Robert., Joseph T. Collins, and Errol D. Hooper Jr. A Key to Amphibians and Reptiles of the Continental United States and Canada. The University Press of Kansas, 1998.
Bartlett, R. D. & Patricia P. Bartlett. Guide and Reference to the Snakes of Western North America (North of Mexico) and Hawaii. University Press of Florida, 2009.
Bartlett, R.D. , & Alan Tennant. Snakes of North America - Western Region. Gulf Publishing Co., 2000.
Brown, Philip R. A Field Guide to Snakes of California. Gulf Publishing Co., 1997.
Ernst, Carl H., Evelyn M. Ernst, & Robert M. Corker. Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Institution Press, 2003.
Wright, Albert Hazen & Anna Allen Wright. Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada. Cornell University Press.
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The following status listings come from the Special Animals List which is published several times each year by the California Department of Fish and Game.
Snakes within the range of this former subspecies are not included on the Special Animals List, which indicates that there are no significant conservation concerns for it in California.
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Organization
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Status Listing
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
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| California Department of Fish and Game |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
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| USDA Forest Service |
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| Natureserve Global Conservation Status Ranks |
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World Conservation Union - IUCN Red List
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