CHECKLIST OF THE SNAKES OF MEXICO 79 



17. Red rings narrowed middorsally by expansion of black rings, which some- 



times meet across red areas ; latter seldom longer than a single black 



ring middorsally triang-ulum^ arcifera 



Red rings not distinctly narrowed middorsally, longer than black rings 18 



18. Red bands interrupted on belly by broad black areas connecting the black 



rings, white rings complete about body triangulum aunulata 



Red bands not interrupted completely; white rings complete or inter- 

 rupted 19 



19. Head uniform black to tips of parietals; white rings on body and tail 30. 



ruthveni 

 Head with light markings 20 



20. A red band or blotch on top of head, remainder of head mottled white and 



black ; white rings on body and tail 26 to 31 thayeri 



Head black and white, not mottled (except snout) 21 



21. White rings covering two and one-half scale lengths middorsally ; ventrals 



228-233 triangulum schmidti 



White rings narrower, about one and one-half scale lengths 22 



22. Ventrals 200 to 224 ; snout light triangxilum nelsoni 



Ventrals 227 to 235 ; snout dark, with a transverse white bar. 



triangulum oligozona 



23. More than half of triad rings (pair of black rings enclosing a red ring) 



on body enclose red rings, which cross the dorsum 24 



More than half of triad rings on body entirely black or with lateral red 

 areas, which are not confluent dorsally zonata herrerae 



24. Top of snout back to frontal black ; or, if prominently red or pink, total 



body triads less than 40 zonata zonata 



Top of snout back to the frontal predominantly red or pink, and with 

 body triads exceeding 39 zonata agalma 



LAMPROPELTIS ALTERNA (Brown) 



Ophibolus alt emu Bkown, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, vol. 53, 1901 (1902), 

 pp. 612-613, pi. 34. 



Lampropeltis alterna Stejnexjeb and Barboue, A check list of North American 

 amphibians and reptiles, ed. 1, 1917, p. 87. — Bianchard, U. S. Nat. Mus. 

 Bull. 114, 1921, pp. 247-249, fig. 78.— Mukray, Contr. Baylor Univ. Mus., No. 

 24, 1939, pp. 9-12, 2 figs.— Smith, Copeia, 1941, No. 2, p. 112; Proc. Roch- 

 ester Acad. Sci., vol. 8, 1942, pp. 204-206.— Schmidt and Owens, Publ, Field 

 Mus. Nat. Hist., zooL ser., vol. 29, 1944, pp. 111-112, 



Type.— Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. No. 14977. 



Type locality. — Davis Mountains, Jeff Davis County, Tex. 



Range. — Western Texas in the Great Bend region of the Rio 

 Grande, south to southern Coahuila (known in Mexico only from 

 two localities in Coahuila). 



LAMPROPELTIS CALIFORNIAE (Blainville)« 



CoJuher (Ophis) calif orniae Blainvii.le, Nouv. Ann. Mus. Hist. Nat. Paris, vol. 

 4, 1835, p. 292, pi. 27, fig. 1. 



"Arguments for a quite different arrangement and concept of calif orniae, toylii, nitida, 

 and conjiincta are fully presented by Klauber in Herpetologica, vol. 1, 1936, pp. 18-27, figs. 

 1, 2, and in Cull. Zool. Soc. San Diego, No. 15, 1939, pp. 1-23, figs. 1-7. The contrary 

 vievr, here accepted, is elaborated elsewhere by Smith (Ainer. Midi. Nat, vol. 29, 1943, pp. 

 245-251). 



