Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Are there any good ways to tell the difference between Kingsnakes & Milksnakes that have similar patterns?

Any dead giveaways or "secrets of the trade" that helps one know what one is looking at (king or milk)?

Marcus

I was going to post a similar question. What makes a kingsnake a kingsnake, and a milksnake a milksnake??? This seems to be a source of confusion for a lot of people.
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"Umm Marge, did you find my snake farm? I'm going to farm and sell snakes"- homer simpson

One of the problems with common names is that the obscure relationships in exactly this manner.

For example:

Scarlet Kingsnake
Eastern Milksnake
Eastern Kingsnake
California Kingsnake

Which of these four are the same species? The Scarlet Kingsnake and the Eastern Milksnake are the same species as are the Cal King and Eastern King.
If you asked the same question using the scientific names, the answer is obvious -

Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides
Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum
Lampropeltis getula getula
Lampropeltis getula california

In general, snakes in the genus Lampropeltis are referred to as Kingsnakes as a group. So every member of this genus could be called a kingsnake. This genus includes:
L. getula - Common Kingsnakes (Eastern, FL, CA, Black, Speckled, etc)
L. alterna - Gray-banded Kingsnakes
L. mexicana - Mexican Kingsnakes
L. ruthveni - Queretaro Kingsnake
L. pyromelana - AZ Mtn Kingsnakes
L. zonata - CA Mtn Kingsnakes
L. triangulum - Milksnakes (and the Scarlet Kingsnake)
L. calligaster - Prairie and Mole Kingsnakes

In other words, the problem lies in the common name milksnake. They are kingsnakes because they are in the same genus with all the other kingsnakes, but we call them milksnakes (except for one subspecies which we for some peculiar historical reason still refer to as the Scarlet Kingsnake).

It isn't just a kingsnake/milksnake issue -

Trans-Pecos Ratsnakes, Green Ratsnakes, and Black Ratsnakes are all in different genera (now), but are all called ratsnakes. The Cornsnake is in the same genus as the Black Ratsnake, but isn't called a Ratsnake at all. Furthermore, one subspecies of the the Cornsnake is known as the Great Plains Ratsnake.

This is why scientists (and some hobbyists) prefer to use the latin names when talking about snakes....there is less confusion.
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Chris Harrison

...he was beginning to realize he was the creature of a god that appreciated the discomfort of his worshippers - W. Somerset Maugham

Bingo. This makes sense to me.

I personally prefer to use the latin/scientifc names myself. It does clear up a lot of confusion.

I use latin/scientific names when referring to my tarantulas too. Common names can overlap soemtimes and lead to more confusion.

The only problem with using latin/scientific names is that sometimes the scientist change the latin/scientifc names of the creatures, putting them into difffernt families, genus, or species.

Thanks for the feedback. That helped.

Marcus

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Keith Hillson

Man, what are you doing with a gun in space? - Charles "Chick" Chapple

we have one of each and there are dramatic temperment differences between the two - we figured it was due to their species, but now I'm thinking it's just their personalities.

I've found that a lot of people still call corn snakes "reds" or "red rat snakes".

they really don't have similar patterns.

I guess there are a few individual snakes from the mexicana/alterna group which are confusing, but most kingsnakes and milksnakes don't really look anything alike.
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Chris Harrison

...he was beginning to realize he was the creature of a god that appreciated the discomfort of his worshippers - W. Somerset Maugham