640 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE YOSEMITE 



Coral King Snake. Lampropeltis multicincta (Yarrow) 



Field characters. — Of small to moderate size; total length usually under 30 inches; 

 tail short; head rather blunt. Coloration conspicuously bright, consisting of crosswise 

 rings or bands of black, red and yellow, each yellow band being bordered on either 

 side by one of black. (See pi. 12fl.) 



Occurrence.— Hesident in moderate numbers in Yosemite Valley. Reported from 

 Smith Creek, 6 miles east of Coulterville. Inhabits chiefly shaded slopes beneath golden 

 oaks. 



The most beautiful reptile in the fauna of the Yosemite region is the 

 Coral King Snake, which lives in and about the heaps of talus rock at 

 the bases of the walls of Yosemite Valley, especially where shaded by 

 golden oaks. The pattern of the reptile is composed of crosswise bands 

 or 'zones' of black, red, and yellow. (See pi. 12a.) These vary in width 

 on different individuals, but the sequence of the bands is the same on all. 

 The arrangement is red, black, yellow, black, red, etc., each yellow band 

 being bordered on either side by black. This arrangement is of little 

 significance here in California, but in Arizona, where the Coral King 

 Snake occurs there is also a venomous snake marked with the same colors, 

 but with a different sequence that is useful to remember. No poisonous 

 snake, save the Rattlesnake, occurs in the Yosemite region, so that no fear 

 need be entertained concerning any brightly colored snake of the sort here 

 described. 



Our Coral King Snake is of quiet, sluggish behavior, so that it is likely 

 to excite interest only by reason of its brilliant coloration. If a person 

 happens to come upon one of these snakes while the latter is resting on 

 the soft dust of a trail, the reptile is prone to remain motionless, with its 

 body in a series of rounded loops. If disturbed it will glide away slowly 

 into the cover of nearby rocks or leafy litter. If picked up, its demeanor 

 is docile ; in other words, it can be handled, according to our experience, 

 with absolute impunity. 



This quiet-appearing snake has the reputation of being highly predatory 

 and is said to attack other reptiles, even including, according to some 

 persons, rattlesnakes. A Coral King Snake taken by us in Yosemite Valley 

 June 1, 1915, was found to have fed upon an adult Western Skink, the 

 smooth-bodied lizard which lives in the same talus slopes. 



Boyle King Snake. Lampropeltis getulus boylii (Baird and Girard) 



Field characters. — Size medium; total length up to 42 inches, body diameter 1 inch 

 or less; scales on back smooth, in 23 (or 25) rows. Coloration in alternate broad bands 

 of brownish black and creamy white, which, brokenly, encircle the body. (See fig. 63a.) 



Occurrence. — Moderately common in Upper Sonoran Zone on west slope of Sierra 

 Nevada. Recorded at Pleasant Valley and at Smith Creek (6 miles east of Coulterville). 

 Inhabits shaded gi'ound with mixed vegetational cover. 



