Lampropeltis calligaster

{{Short description|Species of snake}} {{Speciesbox | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 18 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Hammerson, G.A. |date=2007 |title=''Lampropeltis calligaster'' |volume=2007 |article-number=e.T63826A12719786 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2007.RLTS.T63826A12719786.en |access-date=18 November 2021}}</ref> | image = Prairie Kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster) - 01.jpg | genus = Lampropeltis | species = calligaster | authority = ([[Richard Harlan|Harlan]], 1827) | range_map = Lampropeltis calligaster distribution map.png | synonyms = *''Coluber calligaster'' [[Richard Harlan|Harlan]], 1827 *''Ablabes triangulum'' var. ''calligaster'' [[Edward Hallowell (herpetologist)|Hallowell]], 1856 *''Ophibolus calligaster'' [[Edward Drinker Cope|Cope]], 1900 }}

'''''Lampropeltis calligaster''''' is a [[species]] of [[kingsnake]] known commonly as the '''prairie kingsnake''' or '''yellow-bellied kingsnake'''.

==Geographic range== Prairie kingsnakes are found across 13 states in the [[Midwestern United States|midwestern]] and [[southern United States]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lazaro |first=Enrico de |date=2016-10-11 |title=Yellow-Bellied Kingsnake is Actually Three Separate Species {{!}} Sci.News |url=https://www.sci.news/biology/yellow-bellied-kingsnake-three-species-04265.html |access-date=2025-03-19 |website=Sci.News: Breaking Science News |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Description == Prairie kingsnakes are light brown or grey-brown in color, with dark reddish-brown blotching down the [[Anatomical terms of location#Dorsal and ventral|dorsal]] length of their bodies. Their [[Anatomical terms of location#Dorsal and ventral|ventral]] side is pale or yellowish. They are capable of growing to lengths of 76–110 cm (30–43 in), with males longer and heavier on average than females.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Fitch |first=Henry S. |date=1978 |title=A Field Study of the Prairie Kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster) |journal=Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science |volume=81 |issue=4 |pages=353–363 |doi=10.2307/3627386 |jstor=3627386 |issn=0022-8443}}</ref> They are easily mistaken for some species of [[Colubridae|colubrid]] snakes of the [[genus]] ''[[Pantherophis]]'', which can have similar markings. Dorsal marking may fade with age. The [[Lampropeltis rhombomaculata|mole kingsnake]] (''Lampropeltis rhombomaculata'') and the [[Lampropeltis occipitolineata|South Florida mole kingsnake]] (''Lampropeltis occipitolineata'') were previously considered subspecies, but DNA analysis found them to be distinct species.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=McKelvy |first1=A. D. |last2=Burbrink |first2=F. T. |date=2017-01-01 |title=Ecological divergence in the yellow-bellied kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster) at two North American biodiversity hotspots |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1055790316302317 |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |volume=106 |pages=61–72 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2016.09.006 |pmid=27637990 |bibcode=2017MolPE.106...61M |issn=1055-7903|doi-access=free }}</ref>

== Etymology == The generic name, ''Lampropeltis'', is derived from Greek ''Lampro''s, meaning "shiny", and ''pelta'', meaning "shield", likely in reference to the genus' smooth and shiny dorsal scales. The specific name, ''calligaster'', is derived from Greek ''Kallos'', for "beauty", and ''gaster'', for "belly".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Blaney |first=Richard |date=1979 |title=Lampropeltis calligaster (Harlan) Prairie kingsnake |journal=Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles |volume=229 |pages=1–2}}</ref>

== Diet == Fitch (1978)<ref name=":0" /> found that prairie voles were most commonly consumed, but prairie kingsnakes also ate other small mammals, reptiles, and northern bobwhite eggs. Prairie kingsnakes are nonvenomous constrictors, so they coil around their prey and suffocate it until dead.

== Behavior == [[File:Prairie Kingsnake imported from iNaturalist photo 126086014 on 3 December 2024.jpg|left|thumb|Eating a [[Pantherophis obsoletus|western ratsnake]]]] They are typically docile. Like most colubrids, if harassed they will shake their tail, which, if in dry [[leaf litter]], can sound like a [[rattlesnake]]. They are not typically prone to biting and may excrete a foul-smelling [[musk]] if handled. In central Illinois, they emerge from hibernation in late March and enter hibernation mid-October.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Richardson |first1=Matthew L. |last2=Weatherhead |first2=Patrick J. |last3=Brawn |first3=Jeffrey D. |date=December 2006 |title=Habitat Use and Activity of Prairie Kingsnakes (Lampropeltis Calligaster Calligaster) in Illinois |url=http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1670/0022-1511%282006%2940%5B423%3AHUAAOP%5D2.0.CO%3B2 |journal=Journal of Herpetology |language=en |volume=40 |issue=4 |pages=423–428 |doi=10.1670/0022-1511(2006)40[423:HUAAOP]2.0.CO;2 |issn=0022-1511|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Females maintain an average body temperature nearly two degrees [[Celsius]] higher than males, which may help females grow faster, reach earlier reproductive maturity, or develop larger clutch sizes.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Richardson |first=Matthew |date=2010 |title=Lampropeltis calligaster (prairie kingsnake). Thermal ecology. |journal=Herpetological Review |volume=41 |issue=3 |pages=365–366}}</ref> When aboveground, prairie kingsnakes can maintain an average body temperature that is similar regardless of whether they are exposed or under cover, indicating that they can [[Thermoregulation|thermoregulate]] under cover while being concealed from predators.<ref name=":3" />

Richardson et al. (2006)<ref name=":2" /> radio-tracked prairie kingsnakes in Illinois and found that they were usually underground during the day, so they are probably mostly [[Nocturnality|nocturnal]]. Richardson et al. (2006) also found that [[home range]]s of male prairie kingsnakes averaged over four times larger than those of females, home ranges often included the individual's hibernation site, and home ranges were the same from one year to the next. Males and females move with the same frequency and travel equivalent distances per move.<ref name=":2" /> Prairie kingsnakes may use road embankments, rock ledges, and mammal burrows in grasslands that are indistinguishable from those used throughout their active period to individually hibernate.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Smith |first=Philip Wayne |date=1961-11-30 |title=The Amphibians and Reptiles of Illinois |url=https://iopn.library.illinois.edu/journals/inhs/article/view/167 |journal=Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin |volume=28 |issue=1–3 |pages=1–298 |doi=10.21900/j.inhs.v28.167 |issn=2644-0687|doi-access=free }}</ref>

== Habitat == Prairie kingsnakes primarily use [[prairie]], [[pasture]], and [[shrubland]]s, less often use forests, and appear to never use croplands or cross roads, which may fragment their habitat and be barriers to movement.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> They will also use edges between grasslands and roads or forests, especially females that may use warmer road edges to help with egg production.<ref name=":2" />

== Reproduction == Many adult females do not breed within a given year.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Fitch |first=Henry Sheldon |url=http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/16291 |title=Population structure and biomass of some common snakes in Central North America / by Henry S. Fitch. |date=2000 |publisher=Natural History Museum, University of Kansas |location=Lawrence, Kan. |doi=10.5962/bhl.title.16291}}</ref> Egg laying has been reported in June through July, with clutch sizes averaging 10 eggs that hatch in late August or September.<ref name=":0" /> Prairie kingsnakes often double in length during their first year of life and reach [[sexual maturity]] after two to three years.<ref name=":0" />

== References == {{reflist}} *[https://www.iowaherps.com/species/lampropeltis_calligaster Prairie Kingsnake], Reptiles and Amphibians of Iowa

[[Category:Lampropeltis|calligaster]] [[Category:Endemic reptiles of the United States]] [[Category:Fauna of the Plains-Midwest (United States)]] [[Category:Fauna of the Southeastern United States]] [[Category:Reptiles described in 1827]] [[Category:Taxa named by Richard Harlan]]