Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was reading Reptiles magazine and noticed this discrepancy in an "Ask the Breeder" letter. A reader asks about breeding Mexican Black Kingsnakes. Then the columnist mentions "I'm going to assume that the snakes you have are captive bred western black kingsnakes (Lampropeltis getula nigrita)."

I've never heard "western black" before, and a quick google search confirms both names are in use... Anyone know which name is official?

>>I've never heard "western black" before, and a quick google search confirms both names are in use... Anyone know which name is official?

That depends on which official you ask. According to the Herpetologists League, the Society for the Study of Reptiles and Amphibians, and the American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, the name is Western Black Kingsnake. This is about as official a list as there is.

You can download a PDF of their official list here - www.herplit.com/SSAR/circulars/HC29/Crother.html. If any list was to be pronounced official, this would be it.

There is another list kept by the Center for North American Herpetology - www.cnah.org/. They use the name "Black Desert Kingsnake", but this name (and this list) is not followed by many.

The old name Mexican Black Kingsnake is still widely used in the hobby, but it isn't in any way official.

Really the only official name for this taxon is Lampropeltis getula nigrita!
-----
Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

I've never heard "western black" before, and a quick google search confirms both names are in use... Anyone know which name is official?

Well the official name would be lampropeltis getula nigrita. "Western Black Kingsnake" and "Mexican Black Kingsnake" are common names, and it's not unusual for a snake to have more than one common name. What's called a rat snake in one state is called a cow snake in another.
Usually nigrita are called Mexican Black Kingsnakes, but in the Peterson's field guide they are called Western Black Kingsnakes. It's the same animal.

Common names can be funny like that. One of the patients I was working with found out I was into snakes, and told me a story about a Chicken snake. I asked her don't you mean bullsnake (she was from Texas). Later I discovered while googling around about genus Elaphe (or Pantherophis, or whatever thay've decided to call it now) that some Rat snakes were referred to a Chicken snakes.
I've always heard nigritas referred to as Mexican Black Kings, but as you can see I'm a bit of a dilettante when it comes to colubrids.

reako45