Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Mexican Blacks have become much more popular since 1995 when they first began to appear upon the Reptile Enthusiast scene in large numbers. (In the late 1990s, I had to drive many miles to get the single specimen in my area, paid $100. Last spring I found one at the local Petco for $60.)

But wait! Cal King morphs can be completely black, too. As are the lower Baja phase once called its own subspecies, now lumped back with Cal Kings: Nitida.

The upper Baja Conjuncta phase is a dark specimen with noticeable bands. The southern cape Nitidas are completely black with no pattern. (This seems the trend on the west coast only; the further one goes south, the darker the animal. Just the opposite on the East Coast.)

What if Cal King morphs, or Nitidas, are being sold as Nigritas?? Who would even know the difference? Their home turf is closer, and they could be more easily obtained.

I just wonder how many Mexican Blacks out there are truly from the Sonoran stock, or are instead Cal Kings morphs from the coast or peninsula.

Comments from the gallery??

Honestly, I've never seen a truely solid black Baja Cal king. There is always a hint of pattern, at least in the several hundred I've seen. Even the darkest of this morph is usually just brown and not black. Maybe some are trying to pass Nigrita off as super dark Bajas.?

One thing I've noticed different about Nigrita is the anal plate......in that a lot of the time the anal plate will be pink or red.

Brandon Osborne

Where have you seen so many Bajas? Lived there? I've love to hear about them; I've not known anyone with experience with that subspecies. And only one book seen so far has ever shown a photo.

If what you say is true, then there is no question but that mine is a true Nigrita. He had only the lightest flecks of creamy spots on his lower neck as a hatchling, but they have faded considerably just during the last 2 sheds.

I haven't been there, I've just been around for awhile compaired to most. I'm not an old-timer by any means, but I've seen a lot of snakes hatch in my time. I've never considered the Baja race to be rare at all. I've seen them at just about any show I've been to over the last 12 years.....and at an average cal king price.

Brandon Osborne

>>Mexican Blacks have become much more popular since 1995 when they first began to appear upon the Reptile Enthusiast scene in large numbers.

I had nigrita in the late 80s and they weren't that hard to come by at that time. They were about $100 a baby then as well. If I remember correctly, the price dropped down considerably during the early 90s then came back up as all snake prices did.

I never saw a nitida until around 1989 or 1990 and, as Brandon said, they always had a hint of striping. They were also more expensive.

Furthermore, considering ranges....nitida are from the lower parts of the Baja peninsula and technically, there haven't been any "legally" exported for decades. I suspect most nitida stocks in the US came in under the back seat of someone's car.

Nigrita, on the other hand, do occur in the continental US. I have seen jet black snakes taken in southern AZ. Have these bloodlines been augmented by Mexican stock (both legal and illegal) - of course. But nigrita were a lot more easy to come by during most of the 80s and 90s than nitida.

In fact, I think that is still true to this day.
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Chris Harrison

>>I never saw a nitida until around 1989 or 1990 and, as Brandon said, they always had a hint of striping. They were also more expensive.
>>
>>Nigrita, on the other hand, do occur in the continental US. I have seen jet black snakes taken in southern AZ. Have these bloodlines been augmented by Mexican stock (both legal and illegal) - of course. But nigrita were a lot more easy to come by during most of the 80s and 90s than nitida.
>>
>>In fact, I think that is still true to this day.
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>>Chris Harrison

Here's one from Green Valley, s. AZ, that is tending towards melanistic. They often start with pattern and get blacker with age. This one shows some blotching, as I think sometimes occurs in Mexico too. They may tend to have patterning on the ventrum (don't know about nitida), and can compare head shapes. Also, snakes from s. AZ and Mex. tend to be noticeably smaller than other getula (don't know about nitida)...

Hope it helps a little..

TC

Helpful comments.

black one,Heres one of my adults right here,Also my Nigrita are much bigger animals,My natida top out at about 3 foot.
shannon brown

You 3 were very helpful in determining that I do indeed have a Nigrita. I did not know that Nitidas were smaller; also interesting that they retain some type of pattern.

I've had 4 species of Kings now, love my Nigrita the best based on how well mannered he is when handling and aggressive feeding patterns. Second runner-up was an Eastern named Solomon who handled better than any snake I've ever seen. What a friendly guy he was.