Chihuahuan Mountain Kingsnake

Lampropeltis knoblochi

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This nonvenomous kingsnake mimics the venomous coral snake with its color pattern. It boasts a striking pattern of orange, black, and white bands, only differing from the…

Chihuahuan Mountain Kingsnake illustration

How to identify

This nonvenomous kingsnake mimics the venomous coral snake with its color pattern. It boasts a striking pattern of orange, black, and white bands, only differing from the coral snake by replacing yellow bands with white bands. The bands are arranged with black bands separating the orange and white bands. It is a thin-bodied snake reaching about 3.5 feet in length. It has a narrow head with a slightly defined neck. Its ventrum is white with dark spots. Its face is typically white with a black cap on the top of the head between the eyes.

Range

Southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico, stretching south into northwestern Mexico.

Habitat

This snake is primarily found in mountainous woodlands, and occasionally in surrounding semi-desert grasslands. It is a good climber, but is most often observed on the forest floor, rocky outcrops, or within rock crevices.

Variations

Bands are not always complete. Sometimes they are broken into wide patches across the back, with a chain-like pattern along the sides of the body. The black bands sometimes connect in the center of the back within the orange bands. The orange bands are sometimes more red in color.

Similar species

This species could easily be mistaken for the venomous Sonoran coral snake (*Micruroides euryxanthus*). The coral snake typically has a different arrangement of colors (white bands separating the orange and black bands), but there are always exceptions to this rule, so it can't be considered a reliable way to distinguish these two species. This kingsnake could also be confused with the western milksnake (*Lampropeltis gentilis*) or Arizona mountain kingsnake (*Lampropeltis pyromelana*), both of which are also nonvenomous.