Lampropeltini is a tribe of

colubrid Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from , 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest fossil species of the family date back to the Late Eocene epoch, with earlier origins suspected. Colu ...

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

. These include the

kingsnake Kingsnakes are Colubridae, colubrid New World members of the genus ''Lampropeltis'', which includes 26 species. Among these, about 45 subspecies are recognized. They are nonvenomous and ophiophagy, ophiophagous in diet. Description Kingsnakes ...

milk snake The milk snake or milksnake (''Lampropeltis triangulum''), is a species of kingsnake; up to 24 subspecies are sometimes recognized. ''Lampropeltis elapsoides'', the scarlet kingsnake, was formerly classified as a 25th subspecies (''L. t. elapso ...

corn snake The corn snake (''Pantherophis guttatus''), sometimes called red rat snake is a species of North American rat snake in the Family (biology), family Colubridae. The species subdues its small prey by constriction. It is found throughout the sout ...

, gopher snakes, pine snakes, and bullsnakes. At least 51 species have been recognized and the group have been heavily studied for biogeography, morphology, ecology, and phylogenetics. The internal relationships among the genera has been disputed, but generally the most supported placement of the genera are as follows: * The basal placement of '' Senticolis'' * The sister relationship between ''

Pantherophis ''Pantherophis'' is a genus of nonvenomous colubrid snakes endemic to central and eastern regions of North America. It consists of the North American ratsnakes, the fox snake, foxsnakes, and the cornsnakes. The genus, which contains 10 recognize ...

'' and ''

Pituophis ''Pituophis'' is a genus of nonvenomous colubrid snakes, commonly referred to as gopher snakes, pine snakes, and bullsnakes, which are endemic to North America. They are often yellow or cream in color with dark spots and a dark line across their ...

'', with at least one study in 2016 suggesting the former genus is paraphyletic in respect to the latter * The sister relationship between '' Cemophora'' and '' Lampropeltis'' * A clade consisting of genera of ''

Rhinocheilus ''Rhinocheilus'' is a genus of snakes, Common name, commonly called the long-nosed snakes, in the Family (biology), family Colubridae. The genus is native to the western United States and Mexico. Species and subspecies The genus ''Rhinocheilus'' ...

'', '' Pseudelaphe'', and ''

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

'' Pyron and Burbink (2009) phylogeny of the tribe using 31 species using 7 loci (1

nDNA Nuclear DNA (nDNA), or nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid, is the DNA contained within each cell nucleus of a eukaryotic organism. It encodes for the majority of the genome in eukaryotes, with mitochondrial DNA and plastid DNA coding for the rest. It ...

and 6

mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA and mDNA) is the DNA located in the mitochondria organelles in a eukaryotic cell that converts chemical energy from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA is a small portion of the DNA contained in ...

), as well as incorporating the fossil record: Lampropeltini section from Pryon et al. (2013) in their large scale squamate phylogeny using 4,161 species on 12,896 base pairs from 12 loci (7 nDNA and 5 mtDNA): Lampropeltini section from Figueroa et al. (2016) in their large scale snake phylogeny using 1,745 species on 9,523 base pairs from 10 loci (5 nDNA and 5 mtDNA): Dahn et al. (2018) use 20 out of the 51 known species using 14 loci: Some species are among the longest species (''

Pantherophis obsoletus ''Pantherophis obsoletus'', also known commonly as the western rat snake, black rat snake, pilot black snake, or simply black snake, is a nonvenomous species of snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to central North America. No s ...

'')Species profile: Minnesota DNR
Dnr.state.mn.us. Retrieved on 2012-12-19. and largest species (''

Pituophis catenifer :Common names: Pacific gopher snake, coast gopher snake, western gopher snake Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. 2 volumes. Comstock Publishing Associates. (7th printing, 1985). 1,105 pp. . (''Pituo ...

'') in North America. A lot of species also have evolved to predate and consume other species of snakes, most notably among the species in the genus ''Lampropeltis''. Conant, R. (1975). ''A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Second Edition''. Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 429 pp.
(paperback). (Genus ''Lampropeltis'', p. 201.) All species kill their prey through constriction. Many species are in captivity such as kingsnakes and corn snakes.

References

Alethinophidia {{Alethinophidia-stub