Dan found this juvenile in mid April of 2013 while hosing off his walkway in the
Anaheim Hills.
Anaheim Hills.
The next 3 pictures are of a mating pair Kevin found on a bike trail. They were
moved off the main path for their protection. Good job, Kevin!
moved off the main path for their protection. Good job, Kevin!
A really nice light chocolate Cal king with very nice yellow.
A Long Beach Hypermelanistic Morph. Orange County is the only other County
besides L.A. Co. where these can be found.
besides L.A. Co. where these can be found.
A nice chocolate colored Long Beach Hypermelanistic Cal king.
Partial aberrant
Here's a really dark LB hypermelanistic morph from OC. And when I say dark,
I mean the light pigment is greatly reduced. This snake also has a dark belly
pattern. Not all LB hypers do.
I mean the light pigment is greatly reduced. This snake also has a dark belly
pattern. Not all LB hypers do.
This individual was found in the same place as the hyper above. One thing I've
noticed about areas with LB hypermelanistic kingsnakes, is there are always
some normal patterned kings with abnormally dark heads, like this one. They
might be LB hypers showing a low expression of that trait.
noticed about areas with LB hypermelanistic kingsnakes, is there are always
some normal patterned kings with abnormally dark heads, like this one. They
might be LB hypers showing a low expression of that trait.
A typical Newport with an almost brown belly. There's always a lot of variation
with how dark a belly can be.
with how dark a belly can be.
A young Newport.
A nice looking typical Newport.
A very nice picture of a Typical Newport-Long Beach Morph (Newport).
The lighting from near sunset is perfect.
The lighting from near sunset is perfect.
This Newport seems to have fewer aberrancies on the sides, especially
toward the rear, than most Newport's.
toward the rear, than most Newport's.
San Juan Capistrano locale.
DOR Newports. Notice the color difference between the juvi and adult. The
adult was the same color as the juvenile earlier in life.
adult was the same color as the juvenile earlier in life.
A mostly dotted Newport. Not a common look.
A perfectly striped Newport found by Tony Lanzi.
Some Newports, like this, display evidence of 2nd and 3rd stripes on the
upper sides. 2nd and 3rd stripes are common in striped kings in Riverside
Co. and Northern S.D. Co.
upper sides. 2nd and 3rd stripes are common in striped kings in Riverside
Co. and Northern S.D. Co.
The next two photos are of an O.C. Newport with a similar pattern to the
Newport/Striped Morph I found in Riverside Co.
Newport/Striped Morph I found in Riverside Co.
This Newport is high yellow with a perfect stripe and a mostly yellow belly.
A very nice little Newporter found by Kevin Law known as ramblon on FHF.
A mostly dotted Newport.
One of the coolest Newport's I've seen. Kent found this along with another
Newport under the same board. That is awesome!
Newport under the same board. That is awesome!
This Newport is also hypermelanistic. This happens in areas where there are
both LB hypermelanistics and Newports.
both LB hypermelanistics and Newports.
These next three photos are of another hyper x Newport. Lou hatched this from
a wild caught gravid king. This one is very dark.
a wild caught gravid king. This one is very dark.
Click on photo to enlarge.
A wild caught Newport mud morph.
A high yellow Newport. I was really surprised Brian found this. I had no idea one
with this much yellow could be found in the wild. This is an exceptional specimen.
with this much yellow could be found in the wild. This is an exceptional specimen.
Almost scrambled banded DOR
Here's a very odd Newport. This individual has pattern on the tail and halfway down the sides, it almost turns into a perfect banded pattern. A very odd individual. Its possible it comes from an area that has SD striped and Newport influence.
A very rare Newport with an almost completely reduced stripe. Lou named this
the Chance Chocolate Back Morph. Named after his son. The coolest O.C.
king I've ever seen.
the Chance Chocolate Back Morph. Named after his son. The coolest O.C.
king I've ever seen.
Here in Orange County, the range of the San Diego striped king morph meets the range of the Newport morph and even overlaps it, but it is unclear how far it overlaps. Paul Lynum reports a triple striped SD striped morph from near Irvine, but lots of herpers have herped the area and have only turned up banded and Newports there. Lou Boyer, who is a local OC herper, has found striped and Newports at the same locale, and has found stiped king(s) north of locales where Newports are found. One thing really interesting about these SD stripers is their stripes are always aberrant. These types of striped kings are known as SD striped aberrants. They are still SD stripers, but their stripe is aberrant. The striped area is replaced with dots, dashes, and bars running across the back resembling a banded king. These bars don't reach the lower sides. The SD striped aberrants are also found throughout the range of the SD striped morph, but are not nearly as common as they are in OC. In fact, they are pretty rare over most of the range. At this time it is not known with any certainty why the SD striped kings are nearly if not all aberrant in the area where the two ranges overlap, but my guess is it has something to do with the mixture of the two genes in that area. What we do know is these SD striped aberrants don't look like a cross between a Newport and a SD striper. They look like any other SD striped aberrant found throughout the SD striped king range. Hubbs has classified the barred morph, which is a king that has mostly bars running along its back, as being apart of the Newport-Long Beach complex. His reason for that is because most of them have a pattern on the lower sides similar to the Newports. But the facts are, this morph is found throughout the SD striped king range and is only found with Newports where the SD striped range meets the Newport range, just like other SD striped aberrants. I believe the barred morph is a SD striped aberrant. Like I stated, the SD striped aberrant can have a mixture of dots, dashes, small stripes, and bars. Some specimens can lean more toward any of those features. For example, A SD striped aberrant can have 70% dots, 10% bars, and 20% dashes. We call a snake like that a dotted morph, which even Hubbs agrees is a SD striped aberrant. A dotted morph can have as many as 100% dots, but that would be very very rare. Same goes with bars and dashes. A king with mostly bars is a barred morph and a king with mostly dashes is known as a highway morph. Then there are those that don't have mostly any of these features and are a mix of dots, dashes, and bars. These kings we just call SD striped aberrants. OK now that its clear the barred morph is a SD striped aberrant, I found it very interesting that Lou hatched Newports and barred morphs from the same clutch of eggs from a wild collected Newport from this range in OC where the two ranges overlap. It seems like the two genes (Newport & SD striped) can both be present in the same snake in this area. I personally witnessed something very similar with a pair of wild caught kings from the same field in Los Angeles Co. The male was a Newport and the female appeared to be a normal banded. When bred together, I got 6 normal banded, two Newports (1 scrambled banded, 1 with hypermelanism in it), and a strait out dark LB hypermelanistic morph. Where did this hypermelanism come from? Maybe like the OC area with Newports and stripers, there is a mix of both genes in the kingsnakes from that area. I don't know exactly what's going on, but I do find it interesting.
Hubbs and Fundads SD striped "barred" morph from 2006.
Next 3 photos are of the same OC striper.
Here is the first example I've seen of a hypermelanistic Cal king with a S.D.
striped pattern. This most likely only happens in South O.C.
striped pattern. This most likely only happens in South O.C.
Some hypermelanistic babies from the female above.
Here's another striped king found with hypermelanism in it. Found by Lou Boyer
in the fall of 2012.
in the fall of 2012.
A SD striped "barred" morph, Lou found in South Orange Co. I don't
believe these make it too far into O.C. A very nice find.
believe these make it too far into O.C. A very nice find.
She also had a brown belly.
A wild caught SD striped aberrant Cal king.
This is a SD striped aberrant, but could also be considered a SD striped "barred"
morph. These seem to be more common in Southern Orange County where you
can find Newport's and striped kings in the same field.
morph. These seem to be more common in Southern Orange County where you
can find Newport's and striped kings in the same field.
The next three pictures are of a half band half striped morph. Examples this nice
are very uncommon. The brown belly just adds to the uniqueness of this animal.
are very uncommon. The brown belly just adds to the uniqueness of this animal.
Another SD striped aberrant.
A nice SD striped aberrant.
About as close as it gets to a Stripe-Band-Stripe morph, but I'm not sure if I would
consider this king one of them.
consider this king one of them.
A nice striped aberrant found in Feb. 2013.
A SD striped aberrant that may be expressing a small amount of hypermelanism.
A nice SD striped aberrant adult with a stumped tail.
This SD striped aberrant was found farther north than any of the others Lou
has found.
has found.
From Dana Point
If I hadn't known whitish individuals like this have been found in areas with Coastal
phase kings, I might have thought this was a release. This striper was found July 28
2009. This is the earliest date I know of that has been documented of a striped king
in Orange County. I'm sure they've been found much earlier than that, but I have
found no records of it. Its very likely most were found by individuals that saw no
importance in what they had. It would be interesting to test breed these individuals
to find out if they are axanthic.
phase kings, I might have thought this was a release. This striper was found July 28
2009. This is the earliest date I know of that has been documented of a striped king
in Orange County. I'm sure they've been found much earlier than that, but I have
found no records of it. Its very likely most were found by individuals that saw no
importance in what they had. It would be interesting to test breed these individuals
to find out if they are axanthic.
These two were found about 5 feet from each other. One is aberrant on the neck
and tail area.
and tail area.
This is the coolest looking partial aberrant I've seen. The stripe on the tail
really sticks out. This was sent to me by Judson from FieldHerpForum.
really sticks out. This was sent to me by Judson from FieldHerpForum.