King snake I.D please

[FSreptiles]

Hi guys, i traded one of jy corn snakes yesterday for this king snake. My problem is i don't have alot of knowledge about the different types of kings, it would be awesome if someone could identify this one for me.

Cheers. Francois

[Primogen]

Looks like a Desert Kingsnake, but someone please confirm that.

[Westley Price]

Yeah, I second Primogen's ID.

[FSreptiles]

Shot guys i really appreciate your help. Thanks a million

[Bushviper]

Yeah I have not seen one of them for a while. Try to keep the bloodline clean. I know they cross with another kingsnake (I think speckled kingsnake) in some areas however we should be able to keep them separate in captivity.

[croteseeker]

Without exact locality info, there's actually no way of knowing what subspecies of L. getula this is. That snake could be an Eastern black, A Mexican black, a desert king (even though it lacks the typical "sockhead" marking), or even a Florida king. For my money, I'd go with an Eastern. I can only say that with about 60% certainty, though, because of their extreme variability and propensity for interbreeding with other subspecies. These can be a nightmare to figure out in the wild; in captivity, and with no locality info, your only hope to get a 100% accurate answer to your question is through DNA testing.

[Bushviper]

Would the two "black" subspecies still have so much speckling on them? The desert kings I have seen all had the jet black heads. I guess we get used to seeing the pictures of perfect examples.
When you say eastern do you mean L.g. getula (Eastern chainmark) or eastern black kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula nigra)?

[croteseeker]

Would the two "black" subspecies still have so much speckling on them?

It's absolutely possible. In Southern AZ, L. g. nigrita can be extremely difficult to distinguish from the splendida found there. They regularly intergrade in these areas (as most getula subspecies with overlapping ranges do) and I've heard strong arguments from leading experts on the subject that suggest they are just regional variations of the same subspecies. Regarding the Eastern blacks, they are often strongly speckled and highly reminiscent of those intergrades found in Southern AZ, but without the solid black head and neck. While splendida don't necessarily have to have the full black sock on their head and neck, their head is usually black with at least some extension to the back of the neck. The fact that this one is clearly blotched all the way to the back of the head leads me to believe it's an Eastern black.

With that said, I couldn't honestly discount any subspecies (even getula and holbrooki) until I had either proof of lineage or DNA results to back me up. I've said it before and I'll say it again; this entire genus is just a headache waiting to happen.

[Ross Padilla]

It looks like a Desert X Speckled king cross to me.