May, 1893.] REPTILES OF THE DEATH VALLEY EXPEDITION. 213 



List of specimens of Thcvninophis hammondii. 



TJ.S. 





Nat. 



Sex and 



Mus. 



age. 



No. 





18687 



2 ad. 



18688 



ad. 



18689 



9 ad. 



18690 





18691 



juv. 



18692 



jun. 



18693 



jun. 



18694 



jnn. 



18695 



ad. 



18696 





18697 



ad. 



18698 



jun. 



Locality. 



Owens Valley, Alvord, Calif 



Owens Valley, Fish Slough, 10 miles 



north of Bishop, Calif. 



Owens Lake, Cartago, Calif 



Old Fort Te.jon, Calif 



Lone Pine, Calif 



Kern River, 25 miles above Kernville, 



Calif. 



do 



Kern River, South Fork, Calif 



Kern River, Calif 



Kern River, South Fork, Calif 



Soda Springs, Kern River, Calif 



do 



Alti- 

 tude. 



Feet. 

 4,000 



3,700 



Date. 



June 27 

 July 2 



June 10 

 Julv 3 

 Aug. 21 

 July 9 



July 5 



....' juiv 7 



7,200 | Sept. 8 

 2, 700 June 22 



I Sept. 4 



I Aug. 14 



Collector. 



Stephens 



. . . .do . . . 



....do ... 



Palmer . 



Fisher . . 

 ....do ... 



....do ... 

 ....do ... 



Nelson . 

 Palmer . 

 Fisher . . 

 Bailey . . 



Remarks. 



South Fork. 



Thamnophis vagrans (B. & G.). 



The material brought home by the Death Valley Expedition seems 

 clearly to demonstrate the impracticability of recognizing- a subspecies 

 Uneolata. Among the specimens from southern California there are 

 specimens which are typical and unquestionable Th. vagrans (for in- 

 stance, No. 18708), which combine all the characters of this species, 

 both as to scutellation and coloration. Practically from the same 

 locality we have another specimen (No. 18707), which might properly 

 be referred to Th. Uneolata. Those from Soda Springs on the North 

 Fork of Kern River, and Whitney Creek are more like the former than 

 the latter, while the light-colored specimen from Ash Meadows, Nevada 

 (No. 18700), is a true vagrans, so far as its dorsal spots are concerned, 

 but a Uneolata, if we pay attention to the dorsal stripe only. 



The other specimen from this latter locality (No. 18701) is abnormal 

 in several respects, it being quite melanistic in coloration with a well- 

 defined dorsal band. The dorsal scale rows are very irregular, so that 

 it is difficult to make out the exact scale formula, but the prevailing 

 number seems to be nineteen. 



The amount of black on the belly is very variable ; in fact, not two 

 specimens are alike in this respect. No. 18707, from Lone Pine, has no 

 trace of it, while No. 1870G, from practically the same locality, Owens 

 Lake, has the anterior half of each gastrostege black, and No. 18704. 

 from Soda Springs, has the middle of the under side almost solid bluish 

 black. 



