16 CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCES [Proc. 4th Se». 



Pituophis catenifer heermanni (Hallowell) 

 Valley Gopher-Snake 

 (Plate 1, fig. 1) 



Diagnosis. — Gastrosteges average fewer than 225 ; urosteges 

 average 60 to 68; scale-rows most frequently 31; preoculars 

 usually two; supralabials most frequently eight; dorsal blotches 

 fewer, average on body 58, on tail 15 ; no red in coloration. 



Type locality. — Cosumnes River, California. 



Distribution. — The Klamath region, Oregon, and in Cali- 

 fornia, Modoc County, the Sacramento Valley, the northern 

 part of the San Joaquin Valley, and the western slope of the 

 Sierra Nevada. In Oregon it has been taken near Klamath 

 Falls, Klamath County. Californian specimens have been col- 

 lected in Modoc (Canby, Goose Lake Meadows, Sugar Hill, 

 between Alturas and Davis Creek, Dry Creek in the Warner 

 Mts.), probably Shasta (McCloud River), Tehama (Tehama), 

 Glenn (Fruto, Winslow), Butte (between Live Oak and Grid- 

 ley), Yolo (Grand Island Landing), Placer (Lander near Col- 

 fax), El Dorado (Fyffe, Riverton), San Joaquin (Tracy), 

 Merced (Los Banos, Snelling), Mariposa (between Kinsley 

 and Maculey's Stage Station, Coulterville, Pleasant Valley), 

 Madera (vie. Madera), and Fresno (King's River, Dunlaps, 

 Clovis) counties. 



Variation. — The loreal is 1-1 in all of the twenty-eight speci- 

 mens. The preoculars are 2-2 in twenty-six, or 93% ; and 1-1 

 in two, or 7%. The postoculars are 3-3 in twenty-three, or 

 85% ; 4—4 in three, or 11% ; and 4-5 in one, or 4%. The tem- 

 porals are 4-4 in eleven, or 45% ; 3-4 in five, or 21% ; 5-5 in 

 three, or 13% ; 3-3 in three, or 13% ; 4-6 in one, or 4% ; and 

 2-3 in one, or 4%. The supralabials are 8-8 in twelve, or 48% ; 

 8-9 in eight, or 32% ; and 7-7, 7-8, 9-9, 9-10, and 10-10, each 

 rn one, or 4%. The infralabials are 13-13 in twelve, or 50% ; 

 12-12 in six, or 25% ; 14-14 in two, or 8% ; 12-13 in two, or 

 8% ; and 12-14 and 11-14 each in one, or 4%. The scale rows 

 are 31 in thirteen, or 46% ; 33 in eight, or 29% ; 29 in six, or 

 21%; and 35 in one, or 4%; the average is 31.3 rows. The 

 gastrosteges vary in number from 209 to 231, males having 

 from 209 to 231, females from 218 to 231 ; the average in six- 



