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Knobloch’s Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis knoblochi)

[/vc_column_text][gap size=”12px” id=”” class=”” style=””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”291″ img_size=”large” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded”][vc_column_text]Knobloch’s Mountain Kingsnake, Animas Mtns, NM. Photo by Jim Rorabaugh[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”2371″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” onclick=”img_link_large”][vc_column_text]Hatchling Knobloch’s Mountain Kingsnake, Chiricahua Mtns, AZ. Photo by Jim Rorabaugh[/vc_column_text][gap size=”12px” id=”” class=”” style=””][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”2370″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded” onclick=”img_link_large”][vc_column_text]Knobloch’s Mountain Kingsnake, Chiricahua Mountains, AZ. Photo by Jim Rorabaugh[/vc_column_text][gap size=”12px” id=”” class=”” style=””][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”2373″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded” onclick=”img_link_large”][vc_column_text]Photo by Young Cage[/vc_column_text][gap size=”12px” id=”” class=”” style=””][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”2372″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded” onclick=”img_link_large”][vc_column_text]Knobloch’s Mountain Kingsnake, Galiuro Mountains. Photo by Roger Repp[/vc_column_text][gap size=”12px” id=”” class=”” style=””][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/2″][vc_single_image image=”2374″ img_size=”medium” alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_rounded” onclick=”img_link_large”][vc_column_text]Knobloch’s Mountain Kingsnake in a crevice, Chiricahua Mountains, AZ. Photo by Roger Repp[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]

Description

Knobloch’s Mountain Kingsnake is certainly one of the most beautiful of snakes in our area. It is a species of the sky island mountain ranges southward in the Sierra Madre Occidental, perhaps as far south as Durango and Sinaloa. It is of moderate length (< 1114 mm total length) and brilliantly tri-colored – dorsally there are white or cream, black, and orange-red bands on the body and tail. Black bands separate the white or cream bands from the orange-red bands.  The head is black except for the snout, which is white or cream sometimes with orange-red or black flecking or markings. The ventral surface is white or cream with dark spots.  The dorsal orange-red and black bands do not cross the venter. However, many of the white bands are complete across the ventral surface. The dorsal scales are smooth and shiny, and usually in 23 rows at mid-body. The subcaudal scales are divided, but the anal plate is undivided. The only snakes in our area that resemble Knobloch’s Mountain Kingsnake are the Pyro Mountain Kingsnake, Milksnake, and the Sonoran Coralsnake. The Milksnake has fewer bands, the snout is black, and it has 21 scale rows at mid-body. The Coralsnake lacks orange-red bands on the tail, the orange-red body bands contact the white or yellow bands, and the snout is black. The best way to distinguish the two mountain kingsnakes is by distribution.

These snakes have often been called “pyros” by snake aficionados, owing to the fiery color of their orange-red banding and the scientific name of Lampropeltis pyromelana. However, Burbrink et al. (2011) rearranged this group of snakes, combining snakes from southeastern  Sonora and adjacent Chihuahua, previously referred to as L. p. knoblochi or L. knoblochi, with mountain kingsnakes as far north as southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico, which together are now known as L. knoblochi. The authors also found no reason to maintain the subspecies L.p. woodini from the Huachuca Mountains, which they synonymized with L. knoblochi.  They designated the more northern populations of mountain kingsnakes as L. pyromelana.  Burbrink et al. (2011) did not sample enough populations to precisely define the distribution of the two mountain kingsnake species, but they hypothesized that the boundary was the low desert, which is most likely the Gila River and environs.  If correct, then mountain kingsnakes from north of the Gila River in Arizona, along the Mogollon Rim and eastward into Catron, Grant, and Sierra counties, New Mexico, as well as those of eastern Nevada, western Utah, and northeastern Arizona remain as L. pyromelana. Hence, the informal name of “pyro” is best applied to the northern species.  

In the Arizona portion of the Circle, Knobloch’s Mountain Kingsnake presumably occurs in most of the higher mountains south of the Gila River, but has yet to be found in the Sierrita, Santa Teresa, or Winchester Mountains.  Brennan and Holycross (2006) note no vouchered specimens from the Galiuro Mountains, but Roger Repp (pers. comm.) has photo-vouchered the species from that range (see photo gallery).  In the Sonora portion of the Circle, it is only known from the Sierra Los Ajos and the Sierra Cananea just west of Cananea, but no doubt occurs elsewhere in the higher mountains. This is a snake of montane woodlands – in our area it occurs from oak savanna upslope to mixed conifer forest at elevations of about 1130 m (lower Sycamore Canyon below Ruby Road) to 2881 m (Mt. Wrightson). Knobloch’s Mountain Kingsnake occasionally follows drainages out of the mountains into adjacent semi-desert grasslands. It is often found in mesic canyons with abundant rock outcrops, and may be seen crawling about on the forest floor, on roads, or hiding inside rock crevices. This species is usually observed on the ground or around rocks, but it climbs well.  It is active during the day as well as at night in warm weather.  In the Circle, it has been observed every month of the year except February, although most are found from June through August.

Mating likely takes place from March to early June, and a captive from the Chiricahua Mountains laid clutches of three to six eggs in late April and May.  Eggs hatched 58-78 days later.  The diet of wild Knobloch’s Mountain Kingsnakes has not been rigorously investigated, but lizards have been found in the stomachs of wild-caught specimens, and captives readily take rodents.  Birds, frogs, snakes, and other animals may also be eaten. Larger prey is constricted, but smaller items such as small lizards may simply be grasped and swallowed.  This is a more nervous snake than its close relative the Common Kingsnake, and is more likely to bite when captured or handled.

Under the name Lampropeltis pyromelana, two may be taken per year or four held in possession by the holder of a valid Arizona hunting license, except that take is prohibited in protected areas such as National Park Service units without special authorization. The IUCN has yet to evaluate the conservation status of this species, but Lampropeltis pyromelana is considered a species of least concern. This species is sought after by collectors, but there is no evidence that it has declined due to that activity.  However, its woodland habitats are vulnerable to catastrophic wildfire, the frequency of which has grown dramatically over the last four decades in our area. Climate change and poor forest and fire management are driving causal forces in increased frequency of stand-replacing fires.

Suggested Reading:

Brennan, T.C., and A.T. Holycross. 2006. Amphibians and Reptiles in Arizona. Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix, AZ.

Burbrink, F.T., H. Yaoc, M. Ingrascid, R.W. Bryson, Jr., T. J. Guiherb, and S. Ruaneb. 2011. Speciation at the Mogollon Rim in the Arizona Mountain Kingsnake (Lampropeltis pyromelana). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 60:445–454.

Degenhardt, W.G., C.W. Painter, and A.H. Price. 1996.  Amphibians and Reptiles of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.

Ernst, C.H., and E.M. Ernst. 2003. Snakes of the United States and Canada. Smithsonian Books, Washington, D.C.

Zweifel, R.G. 1980. Aspects of the biology of a laboratory population of kingsnakes. Pages 141-152 in J.B. Murphy and J.T. Collins (editors), Reproductive Biology and Diseases of Captive Reptiles. Society for the Study of Reptiles and Amphibians, Contributions to Herpetology No. 1.

Author: Jim Rorabaugh

For additional information on this species, please see the following volume and pages in the Sonoran Herpetologist: 2004 Mar:29-30.

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