530 University of California Publications in Zoology [Vol. 12 



tween. In other examples the black longitudinal lines are broken up 

 into squarish patches, and in a few these patches are joined trans- 

 versely in the posterior region giving a tiger-like banding. 



Museum number 5513 J 1 5516 O 



Total length (in millimeters) 335 309 



Tail length (in millimeters) 246 ' 220 



Length of fourth toe (in millimeters) 25 23 



The whip-tailed lizard seems to occur abundantly in the Turtle 

 Mountain vicinity in every phase of environment, except the rocky 

 mesa, from rocky hillside to sand dune (see table, p. 507) . It was espe- 

 cially well represented over the rocky hillsides, where individuals 

 ceaselessly forage, sticking their sharp noses into little piles of leaves 

 and debris or picking up small bits of food with their active tongues. 

 They slink about hesitatingly on the sand, with their tails dragging 

 behind them, thus leaving a characteristic track. When running 

 swiftly this lizard elevates its tail, so that the ground is just cleared ; 

 and the tip lashes about as the lizard runs. 



Though usually timid, the whip-tails, like Callisaurus, seem to be 

 almost devoid of fear when feeding. I saw two come into a room and 

 gather crumbs from the floor while several people were about. They 

 sometimes rest with their hind feet raised clear of the hot sand. They 

 exhibit a tendency to burrow with their forefeet when annoyed. 



The stomach of one whip-tail contained a large grasshopper, slight- 

 ly chewed. Another had eaten a small beetle, a spider, and a quantity 

 of tiny vellow ants. 



Sonora episcopa (Kennicott) 

 Texas Ground Snake 



The one specimen (no. 5549) was taken in the rocky hills four 

 miles northwest of Blythe Junction. So far as known to the writer, 

 this is the first record of this snake from California. The scales are 

 in 15 longitudinal rows, the loreals are 1-1, the gastrosteges 185, the 

 urosteges 50, the total length 405 millimeters, and the tail length 73 

 millimeters. 



The coloration differs slightly from that given by Van Denburgh 

 (1912, pp. 153-154) for two specimens collected at Yuma, Arizona. 

 Tbo head is orange (a variation also recorded by Brown, 1901) instead 

 of the usual yellowish brown color, and is identical in tone with the 

 "vinaceous rufous" dorsal band. The darker patches on the head 



