304 University of California Puhlications in Zoology [^'^oi^- 21- 



LOCOMOTION 



If the snake was left in a box of sand open to light it spent most 

 of the time buried in the sand. When dug out and placed on top 

 of the loose sand it soon reburied itself. In getting into the sand the 

 large rostral plate served as a resisting surface while the head was 

 being pushed in. At the same time the head was moved from side 

 to side. The arc of this swing was usually not so long as the head 

 itself. The "neck" or portion just back of the head was held a 

 little arched above the ground. The course of the head when once 

 completely under the sand rarely continued in one direction; it 

 might even be doubled back under the rest of the body which was 

 following through the original entrance to the sand. The direction 

 pursued seemed to be entirely at random except as the snake was 

 turned aside by resisting objects or by harder areas of earth. Many 

 times, by random movements, the head appeared above the sand before 

 the body was entirely in or while part of the body was still going 

 under the sand. At various times this emergence was due to the 

 shallowness of the sand, or to the compactness of the sand, or to 

 the fact that the snake did not make a sufficiently sharp angle down- 

 ward when entering the sand. 



The snake took only a brief time to get under the sand. When 

 especially observed in this regard on April 13, the animal had been 

 active for twenty minutes in response to warmth and light from an 

 electric bulb and had made nine attempts to bury its head and one 

 attempt to dig a hole. At 3:39 p.m. the head was started under 

 in the loose earth. A minute later, with its head partly imder, the 

 snake rested. Then the head was covered and the snake rested again. 

 The head was then worked in deeper. By 3 :42 the last part of the 

 body had been pulled under by intermittent slight motions but at 

 the same time the back part of the head and the neck became 

 exposed. Though the head was thrust in deeper it soon reappeared. 

 In a few minutes continued activity resulted in the snake working 

 wholly out of the sand. Later that afternoon, after various periods 

 of activity and rest, the snake was again exposed to the electric light. 

 In three minutes it hid itself in the sand except for a small section 

 near the tail. This time it remained quiet under the surface. On 

 another occasion, on April 16, the snake was transferred to faint 



