94 BULLETIN 114, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



LAMPROPELTIS CALIFOENIAK CALIFORNIAE (Blainville). 



Fig. 22. 



1835. Coluber (Ophis) californiae Blainville, Nouv. Ann. Mus. d'Hist. Nat., 

 Paris, vol. 4, p. 292, pi. 27, figs. 1, la, 16 (type locality, California; M. 

 Botta, collector). — Baird and Girard, Cat. N. Amer. Kept., pt. 1, 1853, 

 p. 153. — Coronella californiae Dumeril and Bibron, Erp. Gen., vol. 7, 

 pt. 1, 1854, p. 62S. —Ophibolm californiae Cope, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., 

 no. 1, 1875, p. 37; Rep. U. S. Nat. Mus. for 1898, 1900, pi. 19, fig. 8.— 

 Lampropeltis californiae Van Denburgh, Occ. Pap. California Acad. 

 Sci., vol. 5, 1897, p. 172.— McLain, Crit. Notes Coll. Kept. W. Coast 

 United States, 1899, p. 11. — Van Denburgh, Proc. California Acad. 

 Sci., vol. 3, 1912, pp. 149, 151.— Grinnell and Camp, Univ. California 

 Publ. Zool., vol. 17, no. 10, 1917, p. 187.— Stejneger and Barbour, 

 Check List, 1917, p. 87. — Hall and Grinnell, Proc. California Acad. 

 Sci., ser. 4, vol. 9, no. 2, 1919, p. 54. 



1861. Coronella getuliLS californica Jan, Icon. Gen., Livr. 14, pi. 5, fig. 3. 



1863. Coronella californica Jan, Arch. Zool. Anat., vol. 2, fasc. 2, pp. 238, 246. 



1882. Ophibolus getulus eiseni Yarrow, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 5, p. 439 (type 



locality, Fresno, California; type, U.S.N.M., no. 11788; G. Eisen, col- 

 lector); Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., no. 24, 1882, p. 94. 



1883. Ophibolus getulus californiae Garman, Mem. Mus. Oomp. Zool., vol. 8^ 



pt. 1, p. 157.— Cope, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., vol. 14, 1891, p. 614; Rep. 

 U. S. Nat. Mus. for 1898, 1900, p. 922, fig. 231.— Brown, Proc. Acad. 

 Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1901, p. 78.— Ditmars, Reptile Book, 1907, 

 pp. 341, 363. 

 1894. Coronella getula (part) Boulengbr, Cat. Snakes Brit. Mus., vol. 2, p. 198. 



Description. — The scutellation of this form differs from that of 

 hoylii only in that the range of variation appears to be less. It 

 may be described as follows: ventrals, 229 to 241, average 233; 

 caudals, 47 to 60 (males 55 to 60, average 57; females 47 to 53, aver- 

 age 50); supralabials, 7, rarely 8; infralabials, 9 or 10, sometimes 8; 

 oculars 1 and 2 ; temporals, 2 + 3 + 4 ; posterior chin shields much 

 shorter and narrower than the anterior, and separated from each 

 other by two small scales; loreal longer than high (rarely fused with 

 the prefrontal); scale rows commonly 23-21-19 (although sometimes 

 25 rows are developed near the middle of the body, and less fre- 

 quently a row is dropped on each side for a brief space anteriorly). 



In size and proportions this form does not differ from hoylii. 

 The tail varies from 0.113 to 0.140 of the total length (males, 0.128 

 to 0.140, average 0.133; females, 0.113 to 0.123, average 0.120). 

 The largest specimen examined was 1,233 millimeters long and was 

 from Julian, San Diego County, California. 



The pattern is very different from that of any other king snake. 

 The ground color above is dark brown or black. A bright yellow 

 or white stripe, about two scales wide, extends along the middorsal 

 line from a few scales behind the head to the tip of the tail. This 

 stripe is sometimes interrupted, most often close behind the head, 

 in the region of the vent, and on the tail. The scales adjacent to 



