REPTILES OF THE PACIFIC COAST. 



105 



hidden by a strong fold.* Ventral plates about size of 

 dorsals, smooth, imbricate, and arranged in twelve 

 longitudinal series. Number of scales between syrn- 

 j)hyseal plate and anus varying from sixty-two to sixty- 

 eight. 



The ground color above, in adults, is olive, brown, 

 yellow, red, or gray, usually paler on the sides and 

 crossed, on the neck and body, by from nine to sixteen 

 continuous irregular black or dark brown bands. These 

 bands are usually of about the width of one row of 

 scales, but are undulate and sometimes more or less 

 diffused on the back. The lateral scales which these 

 bands occupy are tipped with white. Sometimes the 

 tail is marked like the back, but often it bears merely a 

 central row of small brown blotches. The head and 



*This fold often disappears in specimens full of eggs or food. 



