Catch / Keep / Release?

[jitami]

Hey Tami,

In the wonderful world of CA Mtn Kings there are a total of 7 subspecies with 5 in CA. CaliforniaHerps mentions these specifically under the alternate names links: L. z. zonata (St Helena), L. z. multicincta (Sierra), L. z. multifasciata (Coast), L. z. pulchra (San Diego), and L. z. parvirubra (San Bernardino). Range maps and some great photos (check out the Sierra eating a rattler!) are given.

Please don't be too disappointed with the kings without reds. These are California Kingsnakes (Lampropeltis getulus californicas), subspecies of the Common Kingsnake. These are more prevalent throughout the state than the CA Mtn King and come in varying bands, stripes, or aberrant patterns of black and white, brown and yellow, or somewhere in between. Black and white (anerythristic) variants of the CA Mtn King do exist, but they are very rare!

Lucky for us, coral snakes ("red and yellow kill a fellow") do not live in California.

Steve

Sorry, I was wrong, it's the SSAR that doesn't recognize the subspecies. Quoted from Californiaherps "Currently, the SSAR does not recognize this or any subspecies of Lampropeltis zonata - California Mountain Kingsnake."

I did see the picture of the Sierra eating the rattler. Awesome picture!

I did know that we don't have coral snakes here, but that little rhyme was pounded into my head somewhere along the way Yours is equally effective and probably easier to remember. I'm a preschool teacher, so I find all the little quips we use to teach life lessons interesting

Quick googling of Arroyo Seco produced unsatisfactory results, but the area we spent a lot of time in when I was younger is in the Monterey Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest. Our family owned a cabin on the way into the Arroyo Seco campground. Kind of rough and tumble crowd occasionally, but quiet and beautiful during the week and/or further up the gorge(Ventana Wilderness area). King City was the nearest city, to the east, along hi way 101. I'm sure there's been a fair amount of development since then, but the actual river/gorge area is hopefully intact and thriving? I would say, with just mild hiking, still near developed campgrounds, buildings, etc. we would see several a week.

By looking at the Californiaherps range maps they were likely L. z. multifasciata or the Coast Mountain Kingsnake. Arroyo Seco is in, possibly on the eastern edge, of that little bubble just under the SF Bay on their range map with possible intergrades inland, so we could have seen a bit of both.

Anyway, thanks for the trip down memory lane & hope you soon get to see your first Cal Mountain King live & in person soon! Oh, and I'm not terribly disappointed in the local kings, but was very surprised when I'd been raised *knowing* a kingsnake was red, black, and white

[Steven@HumboldtHerps]

Years back I was surprised to see them come with red!!!