Lampropeltis nigra, commonly known as the black kingsnake, is a nonvenomous colubrid species indigenous to the United States. It is a species of kingsnake.
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A black kingsnake consuming an Eastern Garter Snake Black kingsnakes occupy a wide variety of habitats and is one of the most frequently encountered species by humans in some states. Preferred habitats include abandoned farmsteads, debris piles, edges of floodplains, and thick brush around streams and swamps.
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The black kingsnake is found in the southeastern quarter of the United States, ranging from southern Illinois to Ohio, then down along the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and the Alabama River watershed to the northern Gulf Coast in south Alabama and along the coast to the Mississippi River in Louisiana.
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Common names for L. getula include eastern kingsnake, common kingsnake, chain kingsnake, kingsnake, Carolina kingsnake, chain snake, bastard horn snake, black kingsnake, black moccasin, common chain snake, cow sucker, eastern kingsnake, horse racer, master snake, North American kingsnake, oakleaf rattler, pied snake, pine snake, racer, rattlesnake pilot, thunder-and-lightning snake, thunderbolt, thunder snake, wamper, wampum snake.In North Carolina, it is also called the pied piper.
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The black kingsnake is a large to medium constrictor. Adult specimens attain an average size of in total length, with some reaching maximum total lengths of . It is generally similar to L. getula getula, although its can be distinguished by its geography and appearance. It has a black body that is interspersed with widely spaced yellow or cream- colored speckles, larger and more numerous along the sides.
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The California kingsnake is widespread along the West Coast of North America to elevations of approximately in the Tehachapi Mountains and to over in the southeastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. This species lives in a wide variety of habitats, including woodland chaparral, grassland, deserts, marshes, and even suburban areas. These snakes live in Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, southwestern Colorado, northwestern New Mexico, and northwestern Mexico. In Arizona, they intergrade with the desert kingsnake (Lampropeltis splendida) and the Mexican black kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula nigrita).
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Painted turtles live in most ponds and brooks. These and major rivers also hold snapping turtles, hunted as a delicacy with a WVDNR permit. The box turtle is found in nearly every meadow and wood. Family: Colubridae includes: Queen snake, common water-snake, northern brownsnake, northern red-bellied snake, common ribbonsnake, eastern gartersnake, eastern smooth earthsnake, mountain earthsnake, eastern hog-nosed snake, northern ring-necked snake, eastern wormsnake, northern black racer, rough greensnake, smooth greensnake, cornsnake, black ratsnake, northern pinesnake, eastern kingsnake, black kingsnake, eastern milksnake Family: Viperidae includes: Northern copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix), timber rattlesnake.
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