Sonoran Mountain King Snake (Phoenix Zoo - Arizona Trail)

Sonoran Mountain King Snake

Lampropeltis pyromelana

Summary ⁷

Lampropeltis pyromelana, the Arizona mountain kingsnake, is a species of snake native to the eastern part of Arizona. The adult size of the snake is thought to be 36 inches (910 mm) in length, and they only eat mice.

Range description ⁸

The species' range extends discontinuously from east-central Nevada, central and western Utah, Arizona, and southwestern New Mexico in the United States, to eastern Sonora and western Chihuahua, Mexico, at elevations of 850 to 2,800 m asl (2,800 to 9,100 feet) (Tanner 1983, Degenhardt et al. 1996, Stebbins 2003). Occupied areas are often surrounded by large areas of unsuitable arid habitat (Tanner 1983).

Iucn red list assessment ⁹

Red List Category

Least Concern

Red List Criteria

Version

3.1

Year Assessed

2007

Assessor/s

Hammerson, G.A. & Mendoza-Quijano, F.

Reviewer/s

Cox, N., Chanson, J.S. & Stuart, S.N. (Global Reptile Assessment Coordinating Team)

Contributor/s

Justification

Listed as Least Concern in view of the probably relatively stable extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, number of subpopulations, and population size. This species is not threatened in most of its range.