Talk:California kingsnake

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment
This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 26 August 2020 and 31 December 2020. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Jamesfutrell.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 09:52, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

length of snake
There have been edits to suggest this snake is an average of 4-5ft and reaching 10 feet in maximum length. This average is likely incorrect (the assertion was based on a PedMD/Chewy.com article that does not cite any sources and is in contradiction with more reliable sources already cited on page) and the 10ft max was based off an overt misreading of the cited article, which stated rat snakes - not kingsnakes - can reach ten feet (see edit logs). California herps states average size is 2.5-3.5 feet in length for wild individuals, this is also supported by the Oakland Zoo. Also, FWIW I see these guys in the wild because I live in their native range - they aren't 4-5 feet on average, that's just not true (I know original research isn't appropriate for Wikipedia - which is why we have the other citations already available on the article suggesting a shorter average length of 2.5-3.5 feet, but I also have firsthand experience with the subject). I reverted the original edits, only to have them reverted back with a different citation from a random website that does not cite any primary sources and also does not say the average length is 4-5 feet, instead indicating the species can grow to a maximum length of 4-5 feet. So the assertion that average length is 4-5 feet is incorrect based on the article, but in an interesting twist the article insisting the max length is 4-5 feet is also wrong (see citations on the page - they can grow to over 6ft at maximum). I will not directly revert back to how it was before, but I am going to re-write the section so that it is not overtly wrong (as it currently is misrepresenting the lower quality citation used to support the assertion). If there are any issues with how the information is presented, let's discuss it here to reach consensus prior to making more edits. Best, Connor Long (talk) 06:59, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: California Natural History
— Assignment last updated by Kennedyltaylor (talk) 20:23, 17 October 2023 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Principles of Biology 2
— Assignment last updated by Kingsnake76 (talk) 01:02, 1 April 2024 (UTC)