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Scientific Name Specimen Records Mole Kingsnake photo
Click photo to enlarge.
Photo by Dr. Ben Cash.
Lampropeltis calligaster rhombomaculata Holbrook ATBI Database
Common Name
Mole Kingsnake
Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
Animalia Chordata Reptilia Squamata Colubridae
Animals Chordates Reptiles Snakes/Lizards Colubrids

Mole kingsnakes are uncommon in occurrence, mainly due to their secretive nature. These kingsnakes are known to spend the majority of their time underground. There are few records of this snake from Great Smoky Mountains National Park, indicating the snake is uncommon in the area of the Park. Little is known of their overall status, however, due to the difficulty of capturing these elusive snakes.

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

Adult total length: Up to 120 cm (commonly 50-100 cm total length).

Defining Characters: Mole kingsnake scales are smooth; anal scale is single. These snakes have oblong to oval dark blotches down the center of the back.

Pattern/Coloration: The mole kingsnake ground color is variable from brown and greenish-brown to tan (some specimens can be very light in color). Dorsal patterning is typically dark brown to reddish brown. Their bellies are yellow, green or even pink in color with dark mottling.

In Park: No significant variation.

Similar species: Corn snakes (Elaphe guttata guttata) have a resemblance to mole kingsnakes but have a divided anal scute. Milk snakes (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum) are similar, but typically have much more red coloration dorsally and their bellies most often have much more black mottling.

DISTRIBUTION

Regional
Regional distribution map. The mole kingsnake ranges from Maryland southwest to Mississippi.

Map courtesy of Joe Collins, The Center for North American Herpetology.

Click map to enlarge.

In Park
ATBI Database: Specimen Records Map.
Click maps to enlarge.		 Only two records of the mole kingsnake exist for the Park. Both records are from the vicinity of the Abrams Creek Ranger Station. This habitat consists of pine and mixed pine-hardwood forests and is comparatively drier than most habitats in the rest of the Park.

NATURAL HISTORY

Habitat

Mole kingsnakes are apt to be found in dry, open habitats, but also frequent mixed forest situations. Two potential reasons for the low probability of encountering the mole kingsnake is first their fossorial nature andsecond their apparently primarily nocturnal habits aboveground.

Reproduction

Females lay from 3-13 eggs in moist, loamy soil. Much variation exists in the records as to the timing of egg deposition. In general, eggs are laid in mid-summer and hatch in late summer to early fall.

Longevity

N/A

Terrestrial Ecology

Small mammals (Mammalia), lizards and snakes (Squamata) constitute the largest percentage of the diet of mole kingsnakes.

ASSOCIATED SPECIES

Predators

Eastern kingsnakes (Lampropeltis getula getula) are reported predators.

Parasites

Unknown

Competitors

N/A

CONSERVATION BIOLOGY

Special Protection Status

Rangewide: None. Considered "demonstrably widespread, abundant, and secure" (G5, S5) by The Nature Conservancy.

In Park: All plants and animals are protected within Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Collection requires a permit which is usually granted only for research or educational purposes.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Field Assistants

Jon Davenport, Joshua Ennen, Jessica Daniel, James Ramsey, James Webb.

Maps

Regional: Map courtesy of Joe Collins, The Center for North American Herpetology.

In Park: Discover Life in America - All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory. 2007. The ATBI Database. http://tremont22.campus.utk.edu/ATBI_start.cfm, Discover Life in America, Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738.

Text

Dr. Ben Cash, Maryville College (ben.cash@maryvillecollege.edu)

Photographs

Dr. Ben Cash, Maryville College (All rights reserved)

Supporting Institutions

N/A

Web Page

Charles Wilder.

REFERENCES

Conant, R. and J. T. Collins. 1998. Reptiles and Amphibians: Eastern and Central North America. Peterson Field Guides (series), 3rd ed. expanded,Houghton Mifflin Co., New York, New York, 616 pp.

Huheey J. E., and A. Stupka. 1967. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee, 98 pp.

NatureServe. 2003. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. Version 1.8. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available http://www.natureserve.org/explorer. (Accessed: July 12, 2003).

Palmer, W. M. and A. L. Braswell. 1995. Reptiles of North Carolina. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 412 pp.

Tilley, S. G. and J. E. Huheey. 2001. Reptiles and Amphibians of the Smokies. Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, 143pp.