662 13. COLUBRID 
or reddish brown, changing to green (or blue) on the lower 
rows of scales and the tips of the gastrosteges. There are 
no dark or light markings but the skin between the scales is 
often black. The head and tail are unicolor with the body. 
The lower surfaces are yellow or, rarely, white, unspotted. 
Young are colored like adults on the tail and the poste- 
rior part of the back, but anteriorly are spotted, blotched or 
cross-barred with brown of a shade darker than the ground- 
color. These dark markings spread and blend until the 
adult coloration is assumed. Dark spots are present also 
on the tips of the gastrosteges and sides of the head. 
Length to anus._..._---. 203 314 526 626 636 647 
Length of tail__.__. — 64 103 196 217 192 209 
Distribution—The Western Yellow-bellied or “Blue” 
Racer ranges over the whole length of California, but, I 
believe, has never been taken in the desert regions of the 
southeast. It occurs also in Oregon, Washington, British 
Columbia, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah. 
In California, it has been collected in San Diego (Agua 
Caliente at 3,400 feet) San Bernardino, Los Angeles, (be- 
tween Bixby and Signal Hill, Claremont), Santa Barbara 
(Santa Cruz Island), Kern (Fort Tejon, Kernville), 
Fresno, Mariposa (Yosemite Valley, three miles northeast 
from Coulterville), El Dorado (Fyffe, 5,000 feet), Placer 
(Red Point), Lassen (Honey Lake), Butte (Chamber’s Ra- 
vine near Oroville, four miles southeast from Chico), Yolo 
(Rumsey), Monterey (Monterey, Carmel), Santa Cruz 
(Soquel, Glenwood), Santa Clara (Los Gatos, San Jose, 
Palo Alto, Stanford University, Searsville Summit), San 
Mateo (Pescadero, Woodside), San Francisco, (Golden 
Gate Park), Alameda, (San Leandro, Berkeley), Contra 
Costa (Crockett, San Pablo Creek), Marin (Muir Woods, 
Mill Valley, Sausalito, Camp Taylor), Solano (three miles 
