DESCRIPTION: A large (up to 1,421 mm or 56″ in total length) snake with markings that vary depending on the location/subspecies (see subspecies descriptions below). Base coloration is black or very dark brown. Over most of its range in Arizona it has white rings. In southeastern Arizona it is marked with yellow speckles on the sides and thin yellow bands across the back. Solid black specimens are occasionally encountered in extreme southern Arizona along the border with Mexico. The scales are smooth and shiny and the pupils are round.
DISTRIBUTION: This snake is found across most of the state. It is absent from Arizona’s higher mountains and the high elevations of Mogollon Rim country. In Arizona it ranges in elevation from near sea level at Yuma to about 6,000′.
HABITAT: In Arizona the Common King snake is found in biotic communities ranging from the desert scrubs, through the grasslands, and into the lower reaches of Madera Evergreen Woodland and Great Basin Conifer Woodland. It seems to be most abundant in areas near water such as riparian corridors, large drainages, agriculture and orchards, mesquite Bosque’s, and grasslands. It is less commonly encountered in open and dry desert areas.
BEHAVIOR: This ground-dweller is primarily diurnal in spring and fall and nocturnal during the hot summer months. It hibernates during the cold months of late fall and winter. When captured or persistently harassed it may roll into a ball with its head hidden within the coils.