30. PHYLLORHYNCHUS—31. ELAPHE 697 
was collected by Mr. Herbert Brown at Yuma, Arizona. 
Miss Atsatt recently recorded the finding of one in the 
wash from Tahquitz Creek, near Palm Springs, Riverside 
County, California. 
Remarks.—This and the preceding may eventually be 
found to be one species. There is little if any difference 
except in the keeling of the scales. 
Habits —Miss Atsatt very kindly has furnished me with 
a photograph of the snake found at Tahquitz Creek, and 
the following notes on the habits: 
“The specimen of Phyllorhynchus decurtatus lived until 
July. It is now in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology of 
the University of California. During the period it was un- 
der observation if it was in a box of sand open to the light 
it spent most of the time under the sand. When it was dug 
out of the loose sand and placed on top it soon reburied 
itself. When stimulated by light or other means the snake 
could bury itself completely in two or three minutes. Sev- 
eral times attempts were made at digging a hole. Perhaps 
it digs its own tunnel under a rock. Light rather than heat 
seemed to be the stimulus to produce hiding in sand, Food 
was persistently rejected although some beaten egg was 
licked off snout when the snake could not reach a surface on 
which to rub it off. Several times water was drunk from 
the end of a pipette.” 
Genus 31. Elaphe 
Coluber Bore, Isis von Oken, 1826, p. 209 (type, C. flavescens); Core, 
Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., No. 1, 1875, p. 39; BouLencer, Cat. Snakes 
Brit. Mus., Vol. II, 1894, p. 24; Cope, Report U. S. Nat. Mus., 
for 1898, 1900, p. 825. 
