ON THE SNAKES OF THE CAI.IFORNIAN GENUS LICHANURA. 



I'.Y 



Leonhard Stejneger, 



Curator of the Depart ineut of Reptiles artif Batrachians. 



Ill a recent paper on some forms of the Bold genus Lichanura (Proc. 

 U. S. Nat. Mils., XII, 1889, pp. 98-99) tlie i)reseiit writer remarked 

 " that it is more than jnobaVile that additional material will alter the 

 above results," and that " the manifest great variability of the charac- 

 ters derived from the number and shape of scales* and plates in these 

 snakes makes it quite likt'ly that some of the Ibrms here recognized, Iq 

 the future will be recognized only as varieties." 



I have sul)se(|uently had the opportunity to study the extreme vari- 

 ability in the allied genus Charina (Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., xiii, 1890, 

 ]>p. 177-1812), about which I liad occasion to state (p. 179) that in an 

 extensive series '^ no two specimens are alike as far as the plates of the 

 bead are concerned," and that " there is hardly an individual with both 

 halves of the head alike." 



These results had already greatly inlluenced my views in regard to 

 the various sjiecies of Livhanura, and additional material since received, 

 for which we are again under obligations to Mr. Charles K. Orcutt, 

 of San Diego, California, has made it desirable to review the whole 

 question. 



The result would have been very unsatisfactory, however, or I should 

 perhajjs say it Mould have been still more unsatisfactory than even now, 

 had it not been for the liberality of the authorities of the Philadelphia 

 Academy of Natural Sciences, who promptly and generously granted 

 my recjuest for the loan of the type specimens of L. myriolepis and 

 rosvofnuca. 



A series of 9 specimens of these rare snakes is a material greater 

 than any one before me has been able to compare. The enormous indi- 

 vidual variability, which I shall demonstrate later on, renders tlie re- 

 sult, nevertheless, somewhat doubtful, and although it may be regarded 

 as a step towards the linal settlement of the (|nestion, I must still regard 

 it as only i)relimiuary. In treating of it I shall therefore adhere to the 

 same conservative proceeding which I employed in regard to Charina 

 [torn, cit., p. 181), viz, to recognize as distinct any form which can not 

 be conclusively proven to be only an individual variation of some other 

 form. 



Proceedings of the National Mnseum, Vol.XIV— No, 878. 



