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Photo by William Bosworth
Photo Courtesy of Utah Division of Wildlife Resources
Arizona Mountain Kingsnake
Lampropeltis pyromelana
Other common names: Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake
NatureServe conservation status
Global (G-rank): G4
State (S-rank): S2
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Species range
(In Utah this species ranges from the Pine Valley Mountains in the southwestern corner of the state north through the mountains of the central plateaus as far as Salt Lake County, there being a disjunct population in the Wah Wah Mountains of southwestern Utah. Woodbury (1931) listed records from Salt Lake, Beaver, Iron, and Washington counties. Tanner (1941) reported a locality in Wasatch County as well as additional localities in Washington County. Tanner (1953) added localities in Piute and Sevier counties. Tanner (1953, 1983) published dot maps showing eight and 12 localities in Utah, respectively. G. V. Oliver, 2001)
Habitat
A population in the Wah Wah Mountains is apparently disjunct. Populations occur in rocky habitats, often in canyons having open forests with a well-developed brushy understory. Tanner (1953) mentioned a specimen collected in Washington County that "was moving across the litter under a Pinus ponderosa, near a small stream." Tanner and Banta (1966) noted that this species "seems to be quite hydrophilic not extending in the more xeric portions within its range, but restricted to montane island populations where such areas are surrounded by xeric environments." Wauer (1964), writing of this species in Zion National Park, stated: "It does not occur in the canyons of the lower part of the Park, but frequents only the forested slopes of the Kolob. It has not been found below 6,500 feet elevation, and seems to prefer the semidry slopes in the ponderosa-fir forest or the high chaparral-covered areas."
Threats or limiting factors
(Of all species of snakes that occur in Utah, this is the one most coveted by collectors because of its exceptional beauty, docile nature, adaptabality to captivity, and rarity. In addition to collecting, timber harvest and forest fires may be important threats to this species in Utah. G. V. Oliver, 2001)
