Snakes appear in different color combinations with that too in different forms. The color combination can be in the form of stripes, blotches, and other types of markings. Here is the list of 20 black snakes with white stripes,
Black Snakes With White Stripes
1. Banded California Snake
The California mountain kingsnake is a nonvenomous species of snake endemic to North America and ranges from southern Washington State, through Oregon and California, and to northern Baja California. They have banded pattern on the body that consist of red, black, and white crossbands and hence it is known as banded California snakes. The bands are arranged in similar order where each red crossband being surrounded by two black crossbands, forming what is called a triad. The avarage lifespan of banded California snakes is between 10 to 15 years.
Also Read: 10 Types of Purple Snakes In The World
Image Source: USFWS
2. Eastern Kingsnake
The eastern king snakes are beautiful black snakes with white stripes that are banded with colors ranging from black and white to brown and yellow. They also have horizontal stripes, bands, speckling, and chain marking. The body length of eastern king snakes is between 91.4 to 121.9 cm and there is no data available on the average weight. The primary diet includes small mammals and eggs, however, they are also known to eat other snakes. The avarage lifespan of eastern kingsnakes is between 10 to 15 years.
Also Read: 10 Types Of Blue Snakes In The World
Image Source: USFWS – Pacific Region
3. Bandy-Bandy Snake
The bandy-bandy also known as the hoop snake is a species of venomous snake that belongs to the family Elapidae. The name bandy bandy comes from the indigenous dialect of Kattang, from the Taree region, New South Wales. As of now, 5 subspecies of bandy bandy snake have been identified and all of them are endemic to Australia. The body length ranges between 50 to 60 cm, however, the eh sizes are highly variable between sexes. The dietary habit is ophiophagous in nature which means they eat snakes and it mostly consists of blind snakes from the family Typhlopidae.
Also Read: 10 Types Of Snakes With Horns
Image Source: Teejaybee
4. California Kingsnake
California Kingsnake is one of the black snakes with white stripes that can even exist in a wide range of color morphs in the wild. The snake species is mostly seen with alternating dark and light bands that vary in colors from black and white to brown and cream. The snakes live in Oregon, California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and northwestern Mexico and prefer a wide variety of habitats such as woodland chaparral, grassland, deserts, marshes, river bottoms, and even suburban areas. They are primarily diurnal but may become increasingly nocturnal during periods of particularly hot weather.
Image Source: USFWS Pacific Southwest Region
5. Florida Kingsnake
The Florida king snake has more than 40 white to yellowish crossbands overlaid on a chain mesh pattern of scales. The scales between the crossbands become paler with age and there is a possibility that they become the same color as the crossbands. The body length of Florida king snakes ranges between 90 cm to 120 cm and few species can go upto 175cm. The primary diet includes rattlesnakes, lizards, frogs, rodents, birds, and eggs. They are only seen in Florida in United State and occurs throughout the peninsula from Volusia County to the tip of Florida, excluding the keys.
Image Source: Wikimedia
6. Arizona Black Rattlesnake
The Arizona Black Rattlesnake is one of the black snakes with white stripes that have scales and can grow between 2 to 4 feet in length. The prey primarily feeds on lizards, amphibians, small mammals, and occasionally birds. The natural predators of Arizona Black Rattlesnakes are hawks, other snakes, coyotes, and other predators. They are social snakes and each species prefers to stay in the community, however, some of them stay solo as well. The avarage lifespan of Arizona black rattlesnake is between 15 to 20 years in the wild.
Image Source: Wikimedia
7. Black Rat Snake
The adult black rat snake comes with shiny black along with light brown or gray undersides and a white chin/throat. The body length range between 90 to 180 cm in length with a maximum reported length of upto 270 cm (9 ft). The primary diet includes small mammals, frogs, lizards, birds, and eggs. The avarage lifespan of black rat snakes is between 10 to 15 years in the natural environment. They are mostly seen in the northeastern and central United States. It is also listed as one of the black and white snakes in the world.
8. Suzhen’s Krait
Suzhen’s krait also known as Bungarus suzhenae is a species of krait that was first identified in the year 2021. It is named after Bai Suzhen, who was the snake goddess from the Chinese tale “Legend of the White Snake”. They are mostly seen in the rice fields and streams in monsoon forests in southwestern China and northern Myanmar that too at an elevation between 800 to 1,560 meters above sea level. The primary diet includes eels like the Asian swamp eel and small snakes such as the yellow-spotted keelback water snake (Xenochrophis flavipunctatus), but refuse mice and frogs.
Image Source: Wikimedia
9. Butler’s Wolf Snake
Butler’s wolf snake also known as Lycodon butleri is a species of colubrid snake mostly seen in southern Thailand and peninsular Malaysia. The snake species is named after L. Butler, the curator of the Selangor State Museum. Reproduction is oviparous or egg-laying process. They prefer to thrive in Montane forests at elevations between 1100 and 1500 meters above sea level. The body length is upto 90 cm and can easily be mistaken with some species of Krait.
Image Source: Hong kong snake
10. Malayan Krait
The Malayan Krait also known as Bungarus candidus or blue krait is a highly venomous species of snake that can grow upto 108 cm in length. The population of the snake species is unknown that belongs to the genus Bungarus and the family Elapidae. They are seen in Southeast Asia and come with a pattern of dark-brown, black, or bluish-black crossbands on the body and tail, and rounded on the sides. The dietary habit is carnivores in nature and feeds on snakes but will also eat lizards, frogs, mice, and small animals.
Image Source: Wikimedia
11. Eastern Garter Snake
Eastern Garter Snake’s scientific name is Thamnophis sirtalis which grows between 18 to 26 cm, however, sometimes it reaches up to 49 in (124 cm). These snake species are mostly seen in the regions of the Southeast and most of North America and are found in a wide variety of habitats, including meadows, marshes, woodlands, and hillsides. The species is active by day or night and is often found under boards or other debris.
Image Source: Wikimedia
12. Gopher Snake
Gopher snakes also known as bullsnakes are giant reptiles that can reach upto 9 feet (275 cm) in length. The snake species is most widely seen in North America and it also extends from the Atlantic to Pacific oceans, as far north as southern Canada, and as far south as Veracruz and southern Sinaloa, Mexico, including Baja California. The primary diet includes mammals, although birds and eggs are also eaten. It is also mistaken as a Rattlesnake because of its markings and defensive behavior.
Image Source: Wikimedia
13. Western Terrestrial Garter Snake
The western terrestrial garter snake is known for its yellow, light orange, or white dorsal stripe along with two lines of the same color situated one on each side. They are primarily seen in central British Columbia, central Alberta, and southwestern Manitoba in Canada. The species lobes to thrive in the regions equipped with grasslands, woodlands, and coniferous forests. The unique part is that the snake species does not lay eggs since it is ovoviviparous a characteristic of natricine snakes.
Image Source: Wikipedia
14. Southern Black Racer
The Southern Black Racer’s scientific name is Coluber constrictor priapus) that belongs to the Southeastern United States. The species is active during the day and hence it can easily identified in the day. The primary diet of species is anything that it can empower such as rodents, frogs, toads, and lizards. The body size is between 51 to 142 cm and is known for its white chin adult species have a jet-black dorsal side with a grey belly and white chin.
Image Source: Wikimedia
15. Queen Snake
The queen snake is a species of nonvenomous semiaquatic snake that belongs to the family Colubridae and it is endemic to North America. The common names of the snake species include banded water snake, brown queen snake, diamond-back water snake, leather snake, moon snake, and the list goes on. The species looks very similar to the garter snakes and often gets confused. These snake species are not very large and can grow upto 24 inches (61 cm) in total length and their primary diet includes crayfish.
Image Source: Wikimedia
16. Puget Sound Gartersnaked
The Puget Sound Gartersnake is one of the black snakes with white stripes and is a subspecies of Common Gartersnake. The species is limited to Vancouver Island and the adjacent mainland coast in Canada and to Northwestern Washington. They are mostly seen in regions that are equipped with forests, wetlands, shrublands, wetlands, shorelines, fields, and rocky areas. The species often get confused with the Terrestrial Gartersnake, the Northwestern Gartersnake, and the other two subspecies of Common Gartersnake that occur in B.C., the Valley and Red-sided Gartersnakes.
Image Source: Wikimedia
17. Grey Ratsnake
The grey ratsnake is one of the black snakes with white stripes and is one of about ten species within the American ratsnake genus Pantherophis. The northern part of a grey snake is black in adulthood, and the venter is usually off-white or pale grey with darker irregular blotches. They are found in the eastern and central United States. To depend on themselves, grey ratsnakes will raise their heads and bluff a strike. The breeding season of grey ratsnakes usually lasts from April to July, and females lay 5 to 27 eggs around mid-summer. The young females of grey ratsnakes are known to become reproductively mature when they are 7-9 years old.
Image Source: Andy
18. Striped Whipsnake
The striped whipsnake is native to the western United States and adjacent northern Mexico. The coloration of the snake is cream to yellowish on the belly and will fade towardss the head and coral pink towardss the tail. The snake species is nonvenomous; however, it preys on a wide variety of species, including lizards, other snakes (including venomous rattlesnakes), small mammals, young birds, frogs, and insects. There is very little known about the reproductive activities of M. taeniatus, which will lay a clutch of 3–12 eggs between the months of June and July.
Image Source: Charles
19. Arizona Coral Snake
The Arizona coral snake is among the most venomous snakes in North America and belongs to the family Elapidae. As of now, there are no major threats to habitat loss; however, it can be a minor problem in some locations. The Arizona coral snake is native to the Sonora Desert region of northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States, particularly Arizona. The snake species comes out at night to hunt during the summer season and in the evening hours in the spring and fall. Talking about appearance, they have bold black and red bands, broken by narrower cream (white) to pale yellow bands.
Image Source: Beaver
20. Western Long-Nosed Snake
The long-nosed snake, whose scientific name is Rhinocheilus lecontei, is a nonvenomous snake that belongs to the family Colubridae. They are found in northern Mexico, from San Luis Potosí to Chihuahua, and in the southwestern United States, in California, Nevada, Utah, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, southeastern Colorado, southwestern Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. It likes to spend most of its time buried underground but can also hide under rocks or in rodent burrows. If threatened, these snake species will release a foul-smelling musk and blood from the cloaca as a defence mechanism.
Image Source: tom
These are the 20 black snakes with white stripes in the world. Kindly share and do post your comments.
