Kenneth L. Williams

Kenneth Lee Williams (born 1934 [cite LAF|id=n79-67207] ) is a herpetologist and author of books on the subject of snake biology and classification. He received a degree from Louisiana State University in 1970.cite web
url = http://www.animalbehavior.org/Resources/gpab_abs96_main.html
title = Animal Behavior Society Graduate Program Bulletin, 1996
work = The Animal Behavior Society
accessdate = 2008-06-06] Williams has now retired from teaching in the Biology department of Northwestern State University. During his career, he specialized in studying the Milk Snake (Latin: "Lampropeltis triangulum"). In 1988, he published a book identifying 25 sub-species of Milk Snakes and which is considered seminal and cited by most papers on Milk Snakes.citation
title = The Coastal Plains Milksnake; A Case for Temporalis
url = http://www.kingsnake.com/chesa/feature/temporalis.htm
last1 = Dongarra
first1 = Tony
publisher = Chesapeake Herpetoculture
place = Chesapeake, VA] citation
title = Analysis of sympatric populations of Lampropeltis triangulum syspila and Lampropeltis triangulum elapsoides, in western Kentucky and adjacent Tennessee with relation to the taxonomic status of the scarlet kingsnake
last1 = Armstrong
first1 = Michael P.
last2 = Frymire
first2 = David
last3 = Zimmerer
first3 = Edmund J.
journal = Journal of Herpetology
volume = 35
issue = 4
date = December 2001
year = 2001
pages = 688-93
issn = 0022-1511
url = http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/jumpstart.jhtml?recid=0bc05f7a67b1790e050a2140da939dde29bfd13582719af621eb734dba33044f9d443e023694dc49&fmt=P]

Together with Hobart Muir Smith, he discovered a new snake species in Mexico in the Geophis genus. [citation
journal = Journal of the Ohio Herpetological Society
volume = 5
issue = 3
year = 1966
title = A New Snake (Geophis) from Mexico.
last1 = Smith
first1 = Hobart Muir
authorlink1 = Hobart Muir Smith
last2 = Williams
first2 = Kenneth L.] They also identified the Southeastern Canyon Lizard subspecies of the Canyon Lizard in 1960. In 1966 he co-discovered the Texas Scarlet Snake. In 1968 he identified Cnemidophorus inornatus paululus, a subspecies of the Little Striped Whiptail.citation
title = A New Subspecies of the Teiid Lizard Cnemidophorus inornatus from México
last = Williams
first = Kenneth L.
journal = Journal of Herpetology
volume = 1
issue = 1/4
year = 1968
date = March 29, 1968
page = 21-24
url = http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-1511%2819680329%291%3A1%2F4%3C21%3AANSOTT%3E2.0.CO%3B2-Y&size=LARGE&origin=JSTOR-enlargePage] He is also credited with the identification of the following Milk Snake subspecies in 1978: Andean Milksnake,cite book
last = Bartlett
first = Richard D.
coauthors = Ronald G. Markel
title = Kingsnakes and Milksnakes
publisher = Barron's Educational Series, Inc.
year = 2005
isbn = 0-7641-2853-1
pages = 82] Conant's Milksnake, Honduran Milksnake, Sinaloan Milksnake, Smith's Milksnake, and Stuart's Milksnake.

Williams has concluded from his research that "Lampropeltis triangulum temporalis" are intermediate between the scarlet kingsnake and the eastern milksnake and that therefore, these so called Coastal Plains phase milksnakes are intergrades and thus not a proper scientific designation. [citation
journal =
volume =
issue =
year = 1995
title = Kingsnakes and Milksnakes: Everything about Purchase, Care, Nutrition
last1 = Markel
first1 = Ronald G.
last2 = Bartlett
first2 = Richard D.
authorlink2 =
page = 61
isbn = 0812042409
publisher = Barron's Educational Series] citation
url = http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?collection=ENV&recid=1964640
title = Systematics and natural history of the American milk snake, Lampropeltis triangulum.
publisher = Milwaukee Public Museum
place = Milwaukee, WI (USA)
year = 1988
last = Williams
first = Kenneth L.]

In 2000, the species patronym "Sceloporus merriami williamsi" was named to honor Williams for being a specialist in snake classification and the herpetology of Honduras and Mexico.citation
url = http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/pdf/575/57509006.pdf
title = An Annotated List of the Species-Group Names Applied to the Lizard Genus Sceloporus.
first1 = Edwin L.
last1 = Bell
first2 = Hobart M.
last2 = Smith
first3 = David
last3 = Chiszar
year = 2003
journal = Acta Zoologica Mexicana
volume = 90
pages = 103–174]

References

elected bibliography

*citation
last1 =Williams
first1 = Kenneth L.
authorlink1 = Kenneth L. Williams
year = 1985
title = Cemophora, C. coccinea
journal = Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles
volume = 374
pages = 1-4
*citation
url = http://md1.csa.com/partners/viewrecord.php?collection=ENV&recid=1964640
title = Systematics and natural history of the American milk snake, Lampropeltis triangulum.
publisher = Milwaukee Public Museum
place = Milwaukee, WI (USA)
year = 1988
last = Williams
first = Kenneth L.
authorlink = Kenneth L. Williams
*citation
title = Snakes of the World
last1 =Williams
first1 = Kenneth L.
authorlink1 = Kenneth L. Williams
year = 1994
date = December 1994
publisher = Krieger Publishing Company
isbn = 0894643029
*citation
title = Lampropeltis triangulum.
last1 =Williams
first1 = Kenneth L.
authorlink1 = Kenneth L. Williams
year = 1994
journal = Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles.
volume = 594
pages = 1-10
*citation
title = Scolecophis, Scolecophis atrocinctus.
last1 = Wilson
first1 = Larry David
last2 = Williams
first2 = Kenneth L.
authorlink2 = Kenneth L. Williams
year = 2002
journal = Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles.
volume = 758
pages = 1-3

External links

*worldcat id|lccn-n79-67207