Genetics of color pattern polymorphism in the California kingsnake

Abstract

The California kingsnake, Lampropeltis getulus californiae, exhibits polymorphic variation in color pattern inherited in simple Mendelian fashion. The ubiquitous ringed pattern is recessive to the geographically restricted striped, with the degree of dominance (purity of striping) evidently influenced by modifiers. A geographically more restricted pattern, Long Beach, apparently is due to a third allele at the same locus. A fourth pattern type, Whittier, is the ringed morph with a melanistic dorsal suffusion and black ventral surface. It is known not to be dominant to ringed, but further details remain to be elucidated. Wholly black ventral coloration in striped snakes is inferred to be due to a recessive gene closely linked with the dominant gene for striping.