Reptile & Amphibian Forums

not sure if I can mention which one, but it states....milk snakes are king snakes, they are just the only ones that do not have "kingsnake" in the name. Except the scarlet kingsnake, which is a milk.....or something like that.
I have never heard of milk snakes being called a kingsnake. Anyone got anyfeedback on this?
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****Misty****

www.sneakyserpents.com

"Life is Killing Me"

well yes,they are all lampropeltis.They are pretty much correct but its also like saying that pines are just bulls etc...

Shannon

man my eyes are tearing up lookin at that one, shes a beut
adam
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hybrid breeders association
1.1 sinacorns
1.1 kenyan sand boas
1.1 mbk
1.1 albino corns
1.3 ghost corns
1.0 snow corns
1.0 jurassic milk
0.1 bloodred
0.1 striped albino corn
0.1 childrens python
0.1 albino nelsons
0.1 anery motley
0.1 albino banded cal king
0.1 normal corn het hypo,anery
0.1 hypo tang hondo

Thanks,I wish she still looked like that.She is still cool looking but she tipped up pretty bad.Thats why we need the extreme ghosts,they will stay really clean.

Shannon

Misty

"Kingsnake" is the general common name for ALL members of the genus Lampropeltis. This includes common kings (L. getula ssp.), mountain kings (L. pyromelana ssp.and L. zonata ssp.), gray-banded kings (L. alterna) , Prairie kings (L. calligaster ssp.), Mexican kings (L. mexicana, ruthveni and greeri) and, yes, milksnakes in all their many and varied subspecies (L. triangulum ssp.). So, while it is correct to say that "all milks are kings", the reverse is far from true.

Brad Chambers

brad.. if you ever decide to sell that alterna.. You know who to call!

~ mike

LOL-Thanks Mike, but I doubt I'll be letting go of her any time soon. However, if you or anyone else has a male from the Elephant Mntn. area on 118, I'd sure consider a breeding loan.

Brad Chambers

when trying to argue such points, because common names are open to interpretation depending on where you live, who influenced you, etc. Example, in Europe, the common name "kingsnake" often refers to any kingsnake and milksnake. That is just a word, not proof that kings=milks are vice-versa.

Scientific names, while not necessarily perfect and are subject to change (sometimes drastically), are still your best bet for getting an idea of relationships among snakes.

A better question would be - What is the difference between getula (aka kingsnake) and triangulum (aka milksnake)? I don't even really know off the top of my head. Even that question though shows that I use "kingsnake" to mean getula. What about ruthveni, or mexicana, or zonata? See, even the word "kingsnake" as I use it shows my bias, because where I grew up catching kings, they were getula.

Yes, new methods e.g. DNA analysis will potentially change classifications just like what could happen someday with the Louisiana milksnake/kingsnake/mtn kingsnake (lol), but nevertheless, scientific names tell you more than the common names ever can.

Last point - although humans try and put snakes into neat little taxonomic boxes (and plastic boxes for that matter), nature doesn't care about that. Some snakes may not fit the bill exactly for what is a getula and what is a triangulum. Taxonomists may in that case give the snake its own species name I guess or may assign the snake to whatever it more closely resembles, or the scientists may argue over it.. but still, the goal is to tell us as best as they can how this snake relates to others, in a way better than just "kingsnake" or "milksnake."

BTW, does anyone know what the difference is between triangulum and getula?
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Mark