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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
Eastern king snake |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Reptilia |
| ORDER: |
Squamata |
| FAMILY: |
Colubridae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Lampropeltis (shining, beautiful scales)
getula getula |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
Eastern kingsnakes are typically banded, with colors
ranging from black and white to brown and yellow
with horizontal stripes, bands, speckling, and chain
marking. |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| SIZE: |
Eastern kingsnakes range in size from 91.4-121.9
cm (36-48 in.); longest recorded individual was
208.2 cm (82 in.) |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| WEIGHT: |
text |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| DIET: |
Kingsnakes prey on small mammals and eggs. They
also frequently feed on other reptiles such as anoles
and chameleons, but they are also known for eating
other snakes. |
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| INCUBATION: |
60-75 days
Like
many reptiles, the incubation temperature of the
snake's eggs may determine the offspring's sex;
warmer temperatures usually create males while
cool temperatures create females.
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| CLUTCH
SIZE |
3-29
eggs |
| BREEDING
PERIOD |
text |
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| SEXUAL
MATURITY: |
Approximately
2 years |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
10-15 years |
| MALE |
text |
| FEMALE |
text |
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| RANGE: |
Kingsnakes have one of the widest distributions
of any American snake. They range throughout the
southern United States and Mexico. The Eastern sub-species
can be found as far north as southern New Jersey
and as far west as southern Alabama. |
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| HABITAT: |
Pinelands, hardwood hammocks, prairies, marshes,
and estuaries |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
text |
| LOCAL |
text |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
Not
listed |
| CITES |
Not
listed |
| USFWS |
Not
listed |
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| 1. |
Milksnakes, also known as kingsnakes, get their
name from an old belief that they drink milk from
cows. This myth probably arose because they were
commonly spotted in barns and stables, where there
is a concentration of rodents. |
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| 2. |
Kingsnakes
use quick, jerky movements so that their bands
flash, startling predators. Their bright colors
signal danger and often confuse predators, making
these snakes hard to follow.
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| 3. |
Kingsnakes
are known for eating other snakes - including
venomous species. Kingsnakes are apparently immune
to the venom of the snake species upon which they
prey.
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| 4. |
Kingsnakes
kill their prey via constriction. |
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| 5. |
One
way to tell the difference between corn snakes and
kingsnakes is by identifying the flat belly of the
corn snake as compared to the rounded belly of the
kingsnake. |
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| 6. |
text |
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Many important predators, like birds of prey,
feed on young snakes. This means that snakes fulfill
roles as both predators and prey in regional food
chains. Kingsnakes are also valuable in their
role of curbing rodent populations, especially
those near human settlements.
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|
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Coborn, John. The Atlas of Snakes of the World.
New Jersey: T.F.H. Publications, inc. 1991.
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Markel, R. and R. D. Bartlette. Kingsnakes and
milksnakes. TFH Publications, Inc. 1990. |
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Mehrtens, John M. Living Snakes of the World.
New York: Sterling Publishing Co., 1987.
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| www.kingsnake.com |
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http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/fl-guide/Lampropeltisggetula.htm |
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