Milk snake
Milk snake | |
---|---|
Red milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum syspila) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Serpentes |
Family: | Colubridae |
Genus: | Lampropeltis |
Species: | L. triangulum
|
Binomial name | |
Lampropeltis triangulum (
Lacépède, 1788)[2] | |
Subspecies | |
24 subspecies, see text | |
Synonyms | |
|
The milk snake or milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum), is a species of kingsnake; 24 subspecies are currently recognized. Lampropeltis elapsoides, the scarlet kingsnake, was formerly classified as a 25th subspecies (L. t. elapsoides), but is now recognized as a distinct species.[2] The subspecies have strikingly different appearances, and many of them have their own common names. Some authorities suggest that this species could be split into several separate species.[2] They are not venomous to humans.[3][4]
Geographic range
Milk snakes can be found from the southeastern extreme of
Habitat
Across the wide range of this species, habitat varies; typically, milk snakes prefer to live in forested regions or areas of open woodland. However, they can also be found in swamps, prairie, farmland, rocky slopes, some semi-arid/chaparral areas, and sand dunes/beaches. In some situations, milk snakes also migrate seasonally; during the winter, they may move to higher/drier habitats for hibernation, and then moister habitats in time for the summer. Depending on subspecies, milk snakes enter hibernation from late October or November to mid-April.[7]
Description
There is a significant amount of variation among milk snakes in terms of size. Depending on subspecies, they can be as small as 14" (36 cm) or as large as 72" (183 cm) long.[8] Adults in the wild apparently average from 38 to 225 g (1.3 to 7.9 oz) in North America. However, unusually large milk snakes can become rather bulkier than average-sized adults and potentially weigh up to 750 to 1,400 g (1.65 to 3.09 lb), though high weights as such are generally reported from captivity.[9][10][11] Males typically are larger than females in maturity, although females can be bulkier than males similar in length as well.[12] Generally more tropical populations, from Mexico and further south, reach larger adult sizes than milk snakes living in the temperate zones.[13]
Milk snakes have smooth and shiny scales and their typical color pattern is alternating bands of red-black-yellow or white-black-red;[2] however, red blotches instead of bands are seen in some populations.[2] Some milk snakes have a striking resemblance to coral snakes, in Batesian mimicry, which likely scares away potential predators. Both milk snakes and coral snakes possess transverse bands of red, black, and yellow. Experts now recognize that common mnemonics that people use to distinguish between the deadly coral snake and the harmless milk snake are not 100% reliable. Some coral snakes do not have the typical banding colors or patterns.[14] Examples of unreliable mnemonics commonly used:
- "Red on yellow kill a fellow. Red on black venom lack"
- "Red touches black, it's a friend of Jack. Red touches yellow, it's bad for a fellow."[15]
Due to the many colors of the
Behavior
Milk snakes are mostly
Diet
Young milk snakes typically eat crickets and other insects, slugs, and earthworms;[17] in the western U.S., juveniles also feed on small lizards and other young snakes.[9][18] Adults' diet is primarily small mammals, but frequently includes lizards (especially skinks).[2] They are also known to eat birds and their eggs, frogs, fish, and other snakes (including venomous species like coral snakes and rattlesnakes) and their eggs.[17][18]
Milk snakes are much more opportunistic eaters than the fox snake or corn snake. Although the diet of adult milk snakes primarily consists of
.They are nocturnal hunters and are often found resting during the day in old barns and under wood. An old fable about milk snakes is that they suck cow udders to get milk. The story is entirely false, and is discredited by the fact that the milk snake is not physically capable of sucking milk from a cow's udder; however, milk snakes are frequently found in and around barns, making use of the cool and dark environment for a resting-place during the day, and the easily accessible infestations of rodents for a convenient food supply. This preference for barns, and consequently the company of cows, presumably gave rise to the fable.[2]
Reproduction
Milk snakes are
Milk snakes typically live around 12 years, or up to 21 years in captivity.[17] They reach maturity within three or four years.[7]
Conservation status
The milk snake is listed as of
Subspecies
Source:[21]
- Guatemalan milk snake, L. t. abnorma (Bocourt, 1886)
- Louisiana milk snake, L. t. amaura (Cope, 1861)
- Andean milk snake, L. t. andesiana (K. Williams, 1978)
- Mexican milk snake, L. t. annulata (Kennicott, 1861)
- Jalisco milk snake, L. t. arcifera (F. Werner, 1903)
- Blanchard's milk snake, L. t. blanchardi (Stuart, 1935)
- Pueblan milk snake, L. t. campbelli (Quinn, 1983)
- New Mexico milk snake, L. t. celaenops (Stejneger, 1903)
- Conant's milk snake, L. t. conanti (K. Williams, 1978)
- Dixon's milk snake, L. t. dixoni (Quinn, 1983)
- black milk snake, L. t. gaigeae (Dunn, 1937)
- Central Plains milk snake, L. t. gentilis (Baird & Girard, 1853)
- Honduran milk snake, L. t. hondurensis (K. Williams, 1978)
- pale milk snake, L. t. multistriata (Kennicott, 1861)
- L. t. nelsoni (Blanchard, 1920)
- Pacific Central American milk snake, L. t. oligozona (Bocourt, 1886)
- Atlantic Central American milk snake, L. t. polyzona (Cope, 1861)
- Sinaloan milk snake, L. t. sinaloae (K. Williams, 1978)
- Smith's milk snake,[22] L. t. smithi (K. Williams, 1978)
- Stuart's milk snake, L. t. stuarti (K. Williams, 1978)
- red milk snake, L. t. syspila (Cope, 1889)
- Utah milk snake, L. t. taylori (W. Tanner & Loomis, 1957)
- Lacépède, 1788)
References
- . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Savitzky, Alan H. (2004), Hutchins, Michael; Evans, Arthur V.; Jackson, Jerome A.; Kleiman, Devra G. (eds.), Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, vol. 7: Reptiles (2nd ed.), Detroit: Adam, p. 47, archived from the original on 2011-05-21, retrieved 2018-12-03
- ^ Web, Animal Diversity. "BioKIDS – Kids' Inquiry of Diverse Species, Lampropeltis triangulum, Scarlet kingsnake". www.biokids.umich.edu.
- ^ "Snakes of New York". SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
- ^ "Eastern Milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum)". iNaturalist. Retrieved 2022-01-18.
- JSTOR 1565915
- ^ ISBN 978-0-472-07338-2.
- ISBN 9780866226646.
- ^ a b c Hamilton, B. T., Hart, R., & Sites, J. W. (2012). Feeding ecology of the Milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum, Colubridae) in the western United States. Journal of Herpetology, 46(4), 515-523.
- ^ Fitch, H. S. (1982). Resources of a snake community in prairie-woodland habitat of northeastern Kansas. Herpetological communities, 83-97.
- ^ Peterson, K. H., Lazcano, D., & Galván, R. D. J. (1995). Captive reproduction in the Mexican milksnake Lampropeltis triangulum annulata. Litteratura Serpentium, 15(5), 128-132.
- ^ Shine, R. (1994). Sexual size dimorphism in snakes revisited. Copeia, 326-346.
- ^ Williams, K. L. (1994). Lampropeltis triangulum. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (CAAR).
- ^ "The Most Common Myths About Coral Snakes | The Venom Interviews". thevenominterviews.com. Retrieved 2018-10-07.
- ^ Medical-Surgical Nursing: Patient-Centered Collaborative Care by Donna D. Ignatavicius, M. Linda Workman (page 125s)
- OCLC 632838334.
- ^ a b c d e f "Encyclopedia of Animals (Milk snake entry)", EBSCO Animals, EBSCO Publishing
- ^ a b c "Lampropeltis triangulum (Scarlet kingsnake)". Animal Diversity Web.
- ^ Linzey, D. W., & Clifford, M. J. (2002). Snakes of Virginia. University of Virginia Press.
- . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
- ^ Species Lampropeltis triangulum at The Reptile Database
- ^ a b Bell, Edwin L.; Smith, Hobart M.; Chiszar, David (2003), "An Annotated List of the Species-Group Names Applied to the Lizard Genus Sceloporus" (PDF), Acta Zoológica Mexicana (90): 103–174
External links
- Milk Snake, Reptiles and Amphibians of Iowa