REVISION OF THE KING SNAKES. 89 



LAMPROPELTIS GETULUS CONJUNCTA (Cope). 



Fig. 21. 



1860. LampropelHs hoylii Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, p. 255. 



1861. LampropeUis hoylii conjuncta Cope, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 



pp. 301, 305 (type locality. Cape St. Lucas, Lower California; cotypes (3), 



U. S. Nat. Mus.. no. 5288; J. Xantus, collector). — McLain, Contr. Neotr. 



Herp., 1899, p. 5. — Stejneger and Barbour, Check List, 1917, p. 87. 

 1875. Ophibolus getulus conjundus Cope, Bull. U. S. Nat. Mus., no. 1, pp. 37, 



92; no. 32, 1887, p. 78. 

 1882. Ophibolus getulus hoylii (part) Yarrow, Bull. LT. S. Nat Mus., no. 24, p. 



92 (Cape St. Lucas, La Paz). — Belding, West Amer. Sci., vol. 3, no. 24, 



1887, p. 98.— Cope, Rep. U. S. Nat. Mus. for 1898, 1900, p. 920. 

 1895. LampropeUis conjuncta Van Denburgh, Proc. California Acad. Sci., ser. 



2, vol. 5, pt. 1, p. 142. 



Description. — Ventrals, 228 to 240; caudals, 48 to 54 (males, 53 

 to 54; females, 48 to 51); supralabials, 7; infralabials usually 10, 

 sometimes 9 or 11; oculars, 1 and 2; temporals normally 2+3+4; 

 posterior chin shields about half as long and half as wide as anterior, 

 separated from each other by two small scales; loreal longer than 

 high; frontal and parietals somewhat more elongate than in toijlii 

 and yumensis; scale rows on middle of body 23 or 25. 



In size and proportions this form is nearest like hoylii; it seems, 

 however, to be somewhat smaller and more slender, and to have a 

 more elongate head. The tail varies from. 0.115 to 0.132 of the total 

 length (males, 0.122 to 0.132, average 0.126; females, 0.115 to 0.122, 

 average, 0.119); more specimens may show that these limits are 

 exceeded, and that the averages are practically the same as for the 

 rest of the getulus group. The largest specimen examined measured 

 965 mm. 



The pattern is in general like that of hoylii and yumensis, that is, 

 white annuli on a dark brown or black ground color (fig. 21). Like 

 yumensis, the white scales are edged basally with dark brown, except 

 that the basal darkening is not always evident on some of the scales 

 of the first one or two rows. None of the specimens examined 

 shows any tendency for the brown to overspread all of the white, 

 like some examples of yumensis from the Yuma region. Young 

 specimens show no basal shading of the white scales. The rings are 

 generally complete on the belly, but may be more or less imperfectly 

 alternated; sometimes dark spots are developed on the belly in the 

 white areas. Unlike yumensis and the great majority of specimens of 

 hoylii, the head, behind the prefrontals, is much lightened with white 

 spots. The frontal usually has a roughly triangular white mark, or 

 some fragments of this mark, located somewhat anteriorly. The 

 supraocular has anterior and posterior white dots, which may be 

 joined. The parietals have a lateral white dash, and on ten of the 

 eleven specimens examined there is a white dot on each parietal near 



