13. COLUBRIDM 



more or less spotted or blotched with dark brown, along the 

 edges of the plates. The nape and the top of the head be- 

 hind the prefrontal plates are dark brown or black, with a 

 varying number of white or yellow spots, one of which is 

 very constantly present just behind the parietal plates. The 

 body and tail are marked with great blotches or rings of 

 brown or black, separated by narrower rings of yellow or 

 white. These white rings are much broader on the sides 

 than near the middle of the back, and vary in number from 

 23 to 39 on the body and five to 1 on the tail. The mark- 

 ings of the sides are continued onto the lower surfaces. 



Length to anus 317 383 586 733 921 954 



Length of tail _ 44 56 93 129 118 135 



Distribution. — Boyle's Milk Snake is common in almost 

 all parts of California except, perhaps, the deserts and the 

 higher mountains. It has been recorded also from southern 

 Nevada, Utah, northwestern Arizona, and northwestern 

 Lower California. 



In California, it has been taken in San Diego (San Diego, 

 Campo, La Mesa, Fall Brook, Twin Oaks, Santa Margarita, 

 Vallecito, Poway Corners, San Dieguito Valley, Jacumba 

 Hot Springs, Jarupa Mountains, La Puerta Valley), River- 

 side (San Jacinto Mountains opposite Cabazon and opposite 

 Banning, San Jacinto, Hemet Lake, at 4,400 feet, River- 

 side, Juniper Mountains), San Bernardino (lower Santa 

 Ana Canyon at 2,000 feet, Ontario, Turtle Mountains, 

 Providence Mountains at 4,500 feet, Needles), Los Angeles 

 (Pasadena, Gardena, Tujunga Wash east of San Fernando, 

 San Gabriel Wash near Azusa, Claremont, Lankershim, 

 Los Angeles, Bairdstown, Redondo Beach, mouth of San 

 Gabriel River, Avalon, Catalina Island), Ventura (Piru), 

 Kern (Fort Tejon, Tehachapi Mountains, Kern Valley), 

 Inyo (Farrington Ranch, Laws, Lone Pine, Wild Rose 



