13. COLUBRID.^ 



labials. The lower surfaces are chiefly black, boldly mar- 

 bled with yellowish white laterally on most of the gastro- 

 steges and centrally on a few. The distal urosteges and the 

 genials and gulars are yellowish white with black or dark 

 brown margins. 



The colors in life were purple, black and bright canary 

 yellow. 



Length to anus 920 



Length of tail 56 



Distribution. — Santa Catalina Island, Gulf of Califor- 

 nia, Mexico. 



Remarks. — This beautiful snake is known only from a 

 single adult male which was dug out from the center of a 

 decayed fallen cactus. Its coloring is quite diflFerent from that 

 of any other known species, although the lower surfaces are 

 somewhat suggestive of L, nitida and the spotted sides 

 remind one of L. g. splendida. 



Genus 35. Contia 



Contia Baird & Girard, Cat. N. Amer. Rept., Pt. I, Serpents, 1853, 



p. 1 10 (type, mltis). 

 Lodia Baird & Girard, Cat. N. Amer. Rept., Pt. I, Serpents, 1853, 



p. 116 (type, tenuis). 

 Eirenis Jan, Elenco Sist. d. Ofidi, 1863, p. 48. 



The body is rather stout for so small a snake, with short, 

 tapering, pointed tail, and slight constriction at neck. The 

 head is flat-topped, with broad, rounded snout. Its plates 

 are normal except that the anterior and posterior nasals 

 usually are united above, or both above and below, the 

 nostril. Usually one preocular and two postoculars are 

 present. Temporals are 1+2. There is one loreal. The 



