Lampropeltis

Lampropeltis getula

Taxonavigation

Taxonavigation: Colubroidea

Superregnum: Eukaryota Cladus: Amorphea Cladus: Obazoa Cladus: Opisthokonta Cladus: Holozoa Cladus: Filozoa Cladus: Choanozoa Regnum: Animalia Subregnum: Eumetazoa Cladus: ParaHoxozoa Cladus: Bilateria Cladus: Nephrozoa Superphylum: Deuterostomia Phylum: Chordata Cladus: Olfactores Subphylum: Vertebrata Infraphylum: Gnathostomata Cladus: Eugnathostomata Cladus: Osteichthyes Cladus: Sarcopterygii Cladus: Rhipidistia Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes Cladus: Elpistostegalia Cladus: Stegocephali Cladus: Tetrapoda Cladus: Reptiliomorpha Cladus: Amniota Cladus: Sauropsida Classis: Reptilia Cladus: Eureptilia Cladus: Romeriida Cladus: Diapsida Cladus: Neodiapsida Cladus: Sauria Cladus: Lepidosauromorpha Subclassis: Lepidosauria Ordo: Squamata Cladus: Unidentata, Episquamata Cladus: Toxicofera Subordo: Serpentes Cladus: Caenophidia Superfamilia: Colubroidea

Familia: Colubridae
Subfamilia: Colubrinae
Genus: Lampropeltis
Species (27): L. abnorma – L. alterna – L. annulata – L. californiae – L. calligaster – L. catalinensis – L. elapsoides – L. extenuata – L. floridana – L. getula – L. greeri – L. holbrooki – L. knoblochi – L. leonis – L. mexicana – L. micropholis – L. nigra – L. nigrita – L. occipitolineata – L. polyzona – L. pyromelana – L. rhombomaculata – L. ruthveni – L. splendida – L. triangulum – L. webbi – L. zonata

Name

Lampropeltis Fitzinger, 1843: 25

• Type species: Herpetodryas getulus Schegel, 1837 (=Coluber getulus Linnaeus, 1766), by original designation.

Synonyms

• Sphenophis Fitzinger, 1843: 25
  • Type species: Coronella coccinea Schlegel, 1837 (=Coluber triangulum Lacépède 1789), by original designation.
• Ophibolus Baird & Girard, 1853: 82
  • Type species: Herpetodryas getulus Schegel, 1837, by original designation.
• Osceola Baird & Girard, 1853: 133
  • Type species: Calamaria elapsoidea Holbrook, 1842 (=Coluber triangulum Lacépède 1789), by monotypy.
• Bellophis Lockington, 1877: 52
  • Type species: Coluber zonatus Lockington, 1835.
• Stilosoma Brown, 1890
  • Type species: Stilosoma extenuatum Brown, 1890.
• Oreophis Dugès, 1897: 284
  • Type species: Oreophis boulengeri Dugès, 1897, by monotypy.
• Triaenopholis Werner, 1924: 50
  • Type species: Triaenopholis arenarius Werner, 1924, by monotypy.

References

Primary references

• Fitzinger, L. 1843. Systema Reptilium. Fasciculus primus. Amblyglossae. Braumüller et Seidel: Wien. vi + 106 pp. BHL Reference page. 
• Baird, S.F. & Girard, C. 1853. Catalogue of North American Reptiles in the Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Part 1.–Serpents. Smithsonian Institution: Washington. xvi + 172 pp. BHL Reference page. 
• Werner, F. 1924. Neue oder wenig bekannte Schlangen aus dem Naturhistorischen Staatsmuseum in Wien. Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, Abteilung I. 133: 29–56. PDF Reference page. 

Additional references

• Burbrink, F.T., Yao, H., Ingrasci, M., Bryson, R.W., Jr., Guiher, T.J. & Ruane, S. 2011. Speciation at the Mogollon Rim in the Arizona Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis pyromelana). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 60(3): 445–454. DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2011.05.009 Reference page. 
• Myers, E.A., Rodríguez-Robles, J.A., Denardo, D.F., Staub, R.E., Stropoli, A., Ruane, S. & Burbrink, F.T. 2013. Multilocus phylogeographic assessment of the California Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis zonata) suggests alternative patterns of diversification for the California Floristic Province. Molecular Ecology 22(21): 5418–5429.DOI: 10.1111/mec.12478 Reference page. 
• Ruane, S., Bryson, Jr., R.W., Pyron, R.A. & Burbrink, F.T. 2014. Coalescent Species Delimitation in Milksnakes (genus Lampropeltis) and Impacts on Phylogenetic Comparative Analyses. Systematic Biology 63(2): 231–250. DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syt099 Reference page. 
• Ruane, S. 2015. Using geometric morphometrics for integrative taxonomy: an examination of head shapes of milksnakes (genus Lampropeltis). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 174(2): 394–413. DOI: 10.1111/zoj.12245 Reference page. 
• Hansen, R.W. & Salmon, G.T. 2017. Distribution analysis, taxonomic updates, and conservation status for the Lampropeltis mexicana group (Serpentes: Colubridae). Mesoamerican Herpetology 4(4): 700–758. PDF Reference page. 
• Chambers, E.A. & Hillis, D.M. 2020. The Multispecies Coalescent Over-Splits Species in the Case of Geographically Widespread Taxa. Systematic Biology 69(1): 184–193. DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syz042 Reference page. 
• Burbrink, F.T., Bernstein, J.M., Kuhn, A., Gehara, M. & Ruane, S. 2022. Ecological Divergence and the History of Gene Flow in the Nearctic Milksnakes (Lampropeltis triangulum Complex). Systematic Biology 71(4): 839–858. DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syab093 Reference page. 
• Chambers, E.A., Marshall, T.L. & Hillis, D.M. 2023. The Importance of Contact Zones for Distinguishing Interspecific from Intraspecific Geographic Variation. Systematic Biology 72(2): 357–371. DOI: 10.1093/sysbio/syac056 Reference page. 
• Burbrink, F.T., Myers, E.A. & Pyron, R.A. 2024. Understanding species limits through the formation of phylogeographic lineages. Ecology and Evolution 14(10): e70263. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.70263 Reference page. 

Links

• Uetz, P., Freed, P., Aguilar, R., F. Reyes, J. Kudera & Hošek, J. (eds.) 2025. Lampropeltis . The Reptile Database. Accessed on 19 September 2025.

Vernacular names

• Deutsch: Konigsnattern
• English: Kingsnakes
• 日本語: キングヘビ属

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