Herpetofauna: One Life's List

Lampropeltis getula holbrooki
Speckled Kingsnake

Franklin Co. Missouri. Spring 1973

I can remember clearly after all these years that large metal signboard and the Speckled King Snake underneath.  It was a pretty one, with a yellow spot on each scale, and no trace of a banding pattern like some of them have.  Don Keutzer, my science teacher, had taken me out 'snake-hunting', and this was one of our first finds.  Every time I find a holbrooki I remember that first one, and that wonderful day; I am in debt to Mr. Keutzer for enabling my passion for field herpetology.

The juvenile at left is from Missouri.