Zenny,
I tend to agree; however, sometimes I think close scrutiny is justified, especially when unsuspecting hobbyists are paying premium prices for dubious specimens. As a case in point, I’ve been a silent observer of the “South Georgia King” controversy on this forum for many years. Until now, because of the contentious nature of the subject, I’ve been reluctant to comment. However, it is becoming obvious that a growing number of hobbyists and professional breeders have bought-in completely to the twin notions that an orange, wide-banded Eastern King is not only a valid, wild-occurring morph found in South Georgia, but that it is common enough to merit the title “South Georgia King”. Perhaps the first notion is correct, but based upon more than 50 years of field observation and “flipping tin” throughout South Georgia, where I live, I can assure you that the second notion is not. In fact, after years in the field, I’ve yet to see a specimen even remotely resembling some of those that are now being marketed routinely at shows around the country and on this website as “South Georgia Kings”.
Maybe I’ve just been unlucky, but in my experience, the typical South Georgia King, out of literally hundreds that I’ve come across, from the Chattahoochee basin in southwest Georgia, to the pine prairies south of Brunswick on the Atlantic, looks very similar to every other Eastern King found in the lower southeastern U.S. However, as to be expected from a 200-mile wide area, there are some variations linked to geography found in the overall population, but in my experience, these variations are relatively minor and not always consistent. In general, I’ve found that specimens from the southwestern part of Georgia (and into lower Alabama) tend to exhibit narrow, off-white bands that are widely-spaced, often incomplete, and occasionally aberrant. In general, specimens found in the south-central part of the state tend to have wider off-white bands that are more complete and uniform than those of their westerly brethren. Finally, in general, specimens found in the southeastern part of Georgia tend have lightly speckled, off-white bands that are usually complete and relatively uniform, along with some increased speckling on the head and body. And, as a general rule, I’ve found that the further North one goes all across South Georgia, specimens start to exhibit more of the classic “Chain” pattern as opposed to the banded pattern. Nevertheless, despite these generally observable differences in populations from across the southern part of the state, I would bet my last dollar that no one could correctly pick any of them out of a large, random group originating from South Alabama, North Florida, Central Georgia, or even South Carolina.
If my observations are valid, then how did the “South Georgia King” phenomenon ever get started in the first place? Well, depending upon who you talk to, it is said that the orange, wide-banded Kings now seen all over the marketplace originated from specimens found in the lower portions of the contiguous counties of Echols and Lowndes, which are located in the south-central part of the State on the Florida border. I have also heard Tift County mentioned as a source of these specimens from time to time, although Tift County is not contiguous, and is located at least 75 miles north of the alleged Lowndes/Echols location. Unfortunately, I never spent much time beating the bushes in Tift County, but I did in Lowndes and Echols Counties more than 30 years ago. In fact, I used to live there. I never saw or even heard about any wide, orange-banded Kings back then. If they existed, then I guess I just missed them, and so did all of my herping buddies around the area. Could there be another explanation? Maybe there is. It has been discussed on this forum before.
Be that as it may, perhaps someone who has more field experience in and around these Counties than I do, and who has actually seen these orange, wide-banded Kings in the wild can tell me or show me precisely where I might have the best chance of seeing and photographing one. Since I now live Mitchell County, which is only 50 miles or so to the west, I can make the trip in less than an hour. I’ll even bring the beer…..and the Crow Pie in case I have to eat it. Needless to say, I’m skeptical, but I’ll keep an open mine about this. It is certainly possible that there is, in fact, an enclave in South Georgia harboring a population of these wide, orange-banded Kings. If there is, I would like to document it for the sake of the hobby, and put all the speculation to rest, once and for all. If there is not, then I’ll stick with one of the other explanations discussed recently on this forum. Until then, caveat emptor.
