662 13. COLUBRID& 



or reddish brown, changing to green (or blue) on the lower 

 rows of scales and the tips of the gastrosteges. There are 

 no dark or light markings but the skin between the scales is 

 often black. The head and tail are unicolor with the body. 

 The lower surfaces are yellow or, rarely, white, unspotted. 



Young are colored like adults on the tail and the poste- 

 rior part of the back, but anteriorly are spotted, blotched or 

 cross-barred with brown of a shade darker than the ground- 

 color. These dark markings spread and blend until the 

 adult coloration is assumed. Dark spots are present also 

 on the tips of the gastrosteges and sides of the head. 



Length to anus 203 314 526 626 636 64-7 



Length of tail 64 103 196 217 192 209 



Distribution. The Western Yellow-bellied or "Blue" 

 Racer ranges over the whole length of California, but, I 

 believe, has never been taken in the desert regions of the 

 southeast. It occurs also in Oregon, Washington, British 

 Columbia, Idaho, Nevada, and Utah. 



In California, it has been collected in San Diego (Agua 

 Caliente at 3,400 feet) San Bernardino, Los Angeles, (be- 

 tween Bixby and Signal Hill, Claremont), Santa Barbara 

 (Santa Cruz Island), Kern (Fort Tejon, Kernville), 

 Fresno, Mariposa (Yosemite Valley, three miles northeast 

 from Coulterville), El Dorado (Fyffe, 5,000 feet), Placer 

 (Red Point), Lassen (Honey Lake), Butte (Chamber's Ra- 

 vine near Oroville, four miles southeast from Chico), Yolo 

 (Rumsey), Monterey (Monterey, Carmel), Santa Cruz 

 (Soquel, Glenwood), Santa Clara (Los Gatos, San Jose, 

 Palo Alto, Stanford University, Searsville Summit), San 

 Mateo (Pescadero, Woodside), San Francisco, (Golden 

 Gate Park), Alameda, (San Leandro, Berkeley), Contra 

 Costa (Crockett, San Pablo Creek), Marin (Muir Woods, 

 Mill Valley, Sausalito, Camp Taylor), Solano (three miles 



