| PRAIRIE KINGSNAKE |
| Lampropeltis calligaster calligaster |
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| COLORATION: A variable specie, with specimens having a grey to light brown ground color. With most having about 60 (40-64) darker brown, reddish, or greenish black edged spots or concave blotches, someitmes splitting in two. Some are known to attain striping down their backs as they age. Juveniles are usually a lighter color that darken as they age, some to the point that the pattern is obscured. Head normally has a V shaped or arrowhead pattern. Juveniles are often mistaken for Ratsnakes within their range, and visa versa. They can be discerned from Ratsnakes by simply checking the anal plate. Ratsnakes have a divided anal plate, where Kingsnakes have a single anal plate. Prairie Kings and Mole Kings are very similar in pattern, being seperated by the shape of the dorsal pattern, Prairies with concave blotches, Moles with convex. A count of dorsal scales and infralabials should seperate them also. Most L.c.calligasters have 25-27 dorsal scales at mid-body, where most L.c. rhombomacualata normally have 21-23. Prarie Kings also typically have more infralabials then Mole Kings, 9-11 and 8- rarely 9 respectively. They're known to intergrade with each other in Northwestern Alabama, and western Tennessee. |
| RANGE: Found in Texas, Louisiana, Oaklahoma, Nebraska, Mississippi, Illinois, Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Kansas, Iowa, and Arkansas. In a field study done by Fitch, et al (1971)where 2 L.c.calligasters were made to ingest a radiotransmitter, neither moved more than 95 ft in a single day, and averaged about 23 ft a day throughout the trial, somedays not moving at all. He also noted they moved within a range of about 269 ft. He does note that they did move slower and less distance than those without transmitters. |
| NATURAL HABITAT: Prairies and grassy fields, open woodlands. |
| NATURAL PREY: Feed predominately on mice and small mammals. Klimstra(1959) recorded that Illinois populations fed on 68.6% mammals, 11.2% on amphibians, 6.8% on birds, and 6.4% insects. Blanchard reported "Mr.Mackelden, of St. Louis, collected 38 Lampropeltis calligasters.....and everyone of them when caught disgorged from 1-8 mice, mostly small mice." There are also records of Prairie Kings predating on bird nests during the incubation and nestling stages. So, it seems mice and small mammals are the main staple of their diet, although they will accept amphibians, birds, and lizards, and possibly snakes. |
| If you have any photos I can use please E-mail me |
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| More Prairie Kingsnake Info: @Iowa Herpetology @Kingsnake and Milksnake Page |
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| PRAIRIE KING PHASES: |
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| Albino Prairie Kingsnake, photo courtesy of Rob Marriot. |
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| (Harlan 1827)- First collected by Thomas Say, who proposed the name calligaster. But, is attributed to Harlan, because he was the first to describe it as a specie. |
| MERISTICS: Blotches- 40- 64 Dorsal Scales- 25-27 mid-body, rarely 23 Ventrals- 196-215 (mean 205) Subcaudals- 38-57 (males 44 to 57, females 38 to 52) Supralabials- 7, sometimes 8 Infralabials- 9-11 Oculars- 1 and 2 Temporals- Normally 2+3+4 DENTITION: Maxillary- 12-14, usually 13 or 14, subequal Mandubular- 13 or 14 Palatines- 9-11, larger than the pterygoids Pterygoids- 12-19, mostly 16 |
| SIZE AND LONGETIVITY: Prarie Kings usually average about 42", with the record being 56.25". They usually live to be about 15 years old in captivity, with one specimen living to 23 years and 9 months. Females avg. about 11 eegs, with one recorded laying 18. |
| References: 1, 4, 6, 7, and 17 on Bibiography page CNAH PDF Library, Bird, William, Peak, Phil, and Collins, Joseph T. 2005. Lampropeltis Calligaster (Prairie Kingsnake). A New Record Length for the Entire Range. Journal of Kansas Herpetology 15, pp. 12 Elibrary.unm.edu, Thompson, Frank R. III, Dijak, William, and Burhans, Dirk E. 1999. Video Identification of Predators at Songbird Nests in Old Fields. The Auk 116(1):259-264 Pondturtle.com |
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