;3. COLUBRlD.r. 



Distribution. — This species is restricted to the southern 

 portions of Lower California, while the northern end of 

 that peninsula is inhabited, along its western coast, by Pituo- 

 fhis catenifer annectens, and probably farther east by Pituo- 

 ■phis catenifer deserticola, although this last subspecies has 

 not yet been reported from Mexico. 



Pituo-phis vertebra! is, however, ranges some distance to 

 the north of the Cape Region, where it is very common. It 

 has been collected at Agua Caliente, San Antonio, San Bar- 

 tolo, San Pedro, San Jose del Cabo, Cabo San Lucas, Mira- 

 flores, and La Paz, all in the Cape Region, and at Comondu, 

 San Ignacio, Arroyo de Santa Agueda, and Ballenas Bay. 

 Gopher-snakes have been taken on Santa Margarita Island. 



Remarks. — This species most resembles brightly colored 

 examples of the Arizona Gopher Snake. There is, however, 

 very much more red in the coloration of P. vertebralis and 

 a greater average number of scale-rows and supralabial and 

 preocular plates. Moreover, the Arizona snakes are only 

 reddish or maroon, not bright red, and are most reddish 

 posteriorly where the Lower Californian snakes are black. 

 The bright red coloration of P. vertebralis is in itself suffi- 

 cient to render easy its recognition from all other gopher- 

 snakes. 



Genus 34. Lampropeltis 



Lamprnfeltis Fitzinger, Systems Rcptilium, 18+3, p. 25 (type, gelulus 



Schlege] ^holbrooki). 

 Ofh'ibolus Baird & GiRARD, Cat. N. Amer. Rept., Pt. 1, Serpents, 1853, 



p. 82 (type, iayi). 

 Bellofhis LocKiNGTON, Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci., Vol. VII, 1877, p. 52 



(type, zonata). 



The body is rather thick, with short tail, and little if 

 any constriction at neck. The snout is broad and high. 

 The upper head-plates are normal. The nasal plates are 



