Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have kept several kingsnakes, of four subspecies. I have noted the difference between behavior, and of color & pattern differences.

I've noticed, however, that Florida kingsnakes have a very tapered snout, with lips of matching lengths. I don't recall whether they have a prehensile tail tip "hook" or not. California kingsnakes have a broad, thick head, with an almost menacing look, with a slightly longer upper lip, with no prehensile tail "hook". (They seem to flop their tails down less gracefully when climbing down from branches, too.) Desert kingsnakes have a slightly more narrow face, with a slightly longer upper lip, but with a very prominent tail tip "hook". (Mine is an expert climber - as much so as most Ratsnakes.)

Have any of you also noted such subtle differences?

Do some subspecies tend to have a more prehensile tail than others?

Desert Don
Vancouver, WA
 
1.0 Pantherophis obsoleta obsoleta
1.0 Lampropeltis getula splendida
1.0 Terrapene carolina carolina

I think your making great observations, but there is more to it.
Cal kings, come from many many many different areas, Coastal, esturarian, desert, mountain, etc, with many different soil and plant types. Some have narrow heads, some have broad heads, and of course inbetween. This can even vary over time in one place.
Same goes for desert kings. They come from wetlands, grass lands, desert, etc. And like cal kings, each area has its own demands on the snake.
And the same for Fla kings, yes they come from a much wetter environment, but that varies over the entire length of Fla. So again a range of demands.
Lastly, subspecies is a thing of the past, much to my displeasure.
I actually worked on a paper concerning this in the Mexicana group, as they across the board, had individuals with super broad wide heads, and pin heads. I think the paper was attempting to make heads or tails about the heads, sadly it didn't. Anyway, keep looking. I think the more you look, numbers one local and numbers in many areas, the more confusing it becomes, the result is, head shape has a range of characters. The getula group can have short, long, narrow, wide and combinations of these traits and still be any one of the getula group. hahahahahahaha

Thanks for the post and observations (both of you)! Concerning the post from FR, did you notice any pattern to head shape and soil type? Is a certain head shape better designed to digging in certain soil types?

have a great day.

Graybands have a variable head shape too. Some are very flat and arrow-like and some are less so. Some have more bulging eyes too. I think it's just natural variation and does not mean much towards proving or disproving the existence of subspecies. Pretty much every animal has this type of variation.
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