Milk snake
| Milk snake | |
|---|---|
| Red milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum syspila) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Serpentes |
| Family: | Colubridae |
| Genus: | Lampropeltis |
| Species: | L. triangulum |
| Binomial name | |
| Lampropeltis triangulum (Lacépède, 1788) | |
| Subspecies | |
|
24 subspecies, see text | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
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. elapsoides), but is now recognized as a distinct species. The subspecies have strikingly different appearances, and many of them have their own common names. Some authorities suggest that this species could be split into several separate species. They are not venomous to humans.