http://westmextricolors.wix.com/west1

This site is awesome. Look under History and view the range map.

Basically, nelsoni occupy the west coast areas south of the more arid areas that sinaloae occupy to the north. Jalisco milks occupy the more montane areas inland. But it sure gets muddy in many areas - by muddy I mean there are intermediate animals. They "interbreed" in areas, because they do not know that we humans separate them into subspecies.

Jaliscos are adapted to cooler, higher areas. Nelsons are adapted for less montane regions but still more tropical compared to sinaloan range. Sinaloans can occupy area that get quite arid. Easy to make distinctions well into each of their ranges. But where they meet, good luck. Just guess like the early importers did.

Remember that story of the arcifera and the non-milksnake ruthveni kingsnake? Collectors in montane areas outside I think it was Lake Chapala found what they thought were arcifera, since they also occur near there. Turned out to be ruthveni. That is after they were in the hobby in collections sold as arcifera. They look so similar because they are adapted to the same environs. And those two have many more differences compared to nelsons vs sinaloan.

I have been to sinaloa as well, a few miles inland from the coastal hills. They have a wet season and a dry season. The soil was very reddish. And with the rocks I saw distributed around and the shadows made, a red/blk/wht snake would do well there.

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