1126 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1898. 



The forepart of the head is bhick, but the black, instead of passing 

 forward from the anterior part of the occipitals to near the eye and 

 thus leaving the three posterior labials yellow, as in E.fulvkis and E. 

 distans, involves nearly the whole of the occipitals and passes back- 

 ward entirely behind the angle of the mouth, and involves the whole 

 of the lower jaw to behind the posterior labial, leaving a broad emar- 

 gination in the black on the occiput, in the bottom of which eniargina- 

 tion are seen the white posterior tips of the occipitals. Behind this is 

 a creamy-white ring (probably yellow in life), which is situated more 

 posteriorly than in E.fulviu!^^ and involves only the posterior tip of the 

 occipitals and none of the labials. IsText behind this white ring, instead 

 of a black ring as in the other species, is a broad light-brick red one 

 involving eleven scales. A creamy- white ring three and a half scales 

 wide separates this first red ring from a black one eight scales in widtli. 

 Behind this are alternate immaculate black and red rings seven or eight 

 scales wide, and separated by white rings three to three and a half 

 sea es in width. There are eleven black and eleven red rings on the 

 body separated by twice as many white ones. The tail is ringed with 

 black and white, without any red. All the rings run entirely around 

 the body of the same color, and are wholly without spots above and 

 below. The plates of the head and peculiar style of coloration in this 

 strongly marked species can not be mistaken. The three colors, each 

 immaculate, glossy, and clear, form a striking contrast, and the red is 

 probably bright carmine in life, thus attbrding the most beautiful col- 

 oration liossessed by any North American snake. 



The proportions of the head plates in this species are very different 

 from what is observed in E. fulvius and other species, and mark it as 

 one of the most distinct species of the genus. Its geographic range 

 is the Sonoran region, beyond which it has not been found. 



Elaps etiryxantliKS Kennicott. 



Catalogue 

 No. 



1122 

 1131 

 8566 



8940 

 8850 

 17790 

 22194 

 16805 

 21721 



22194 



Number 

 of speci- 

 mens. 



Locality- 



Sonora, Mexico 



Arizona 



Tiburou Island, Lower 



California. 

 Fort Whipple, Arizona . . . 



Chihuab ua 



Fort Hiiacbuca, Arizona.. 



Fort Bowie, Arizona 



Nogales, Arizona 



Warsaw Mill, Mexican 



boundary line, Arizona 

 Fort Bowie, Arizona 



When 

 collected. 



P^roni whom received. 



Nature of 

 specimen. 



Dr. Thos. Webb Alcoholic. 



Aug. 22, 1876 



A.Schott 



Dr. T.H. Streets, U.S. N. 



E. Palmer 



Wni. Grant 



AVilcox 



Fisher 



P. L. Jouy 



Dr, E. A.Mearns 



U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture. 



do. 

 do. 



do. 

 do. 



do. 



do. 



do. 



Prof. F. Cragin, of Topeka, Kansas, sent me a specimen of this spe- 

 cies which he obtained at Guaymas, on the Gulf of California. The 

 specimen Cat. No. 1123 from the Eio Grande Biver referred to this 

 species by Yarrow' belongs to the E. fulvius. 



Check-list, p. 82. 



