Reptiles
Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake
Lampropeltis pyromelana · also called Sonoran mountain kingsnakes
Deep in an isolated Arizona sky island, a Sonoran mountain kingsnake winds beneath a fallen log, its bold red, black, and white bands borrowing a warning that belongs to a genuinely venomous snake it does not resemble by accident.
Overview
The Sonoran mountain kingsnake, Lampropeltis pyromelana, is a striking, harmless constrictor native to rocky mountain forest habitat across Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and adjacent Mexico. Its bold coral-snake-mimicking colouration, secretive sky-island lifestyle, and occasional predation on rattlesnakes make it one of the more visually dramatic and behaviourally interesting kingsnakes in North America.
Borrowed colours, real protection
Though it carries no venom of its own, the Sonoran mountain kingsnake’s bold banding closely echoes a genuinely dangerous coral snake pattern, a bluff that likely spares it from predators unwilling to risk a mistake.
Status
Least Concern — widespread and stable across suitable mountain habitat throughout Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and adjacent Mexico.
Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake: common questions
Is the Sonoran mountain kingsnake venomous?
No, the Sonoran mountain kingsnake is completely harmless and has no venom, despite its bold red, black, and white banded pattern closely resembling that of venomous coral snakes, a case of mimicry that likely helps deter predators that have learned to avoid the coral snake's warning colours.
What does "sky island" mean in relation to this snake's habitat?
A sky island is an isolated mountain range surrounded by lower, drier desert terrain, and the Sonoran mountain kingsnake favours these scattered highland pockets across the Southwest, meaning its populations can be naturally separated from one another by considerable stretches of unsuitable lowland habitat.
How does the Sonoran mountain kingsnake kill its prey?
Like other kingsnakes, it relies on constriction rather than venom, coiling tightly around a captured animal such as a lizard or small mammal and applying steady pressure until the prey can no longer breathe, before swallowing it whole.
Does the Sonoran mountain kingsnake really eat rattlesnakes?
Yes, this species has been documented preying on other snakes, including young rattlesnakes on occasion, and shows a notable degree of resistance or tolerance that allows kingsnakes generally to occasionally overpower venomous prey that would be dangerous to most other predators.