CHARACTERS STUDIED
Snakes currently assigned to Pituophis deppei differ from other members of the genus by possessing two instead of four prefrontal plates. The subspecies of P. deppei have been defined on characters of coloration and scutellation.
Scutellation.—The only scale characters utilized in the present study are the numbers of ventrals and caudals. The number of ventrals varies in the total sample from 210 to 246 ([Table 1]); usually the variation in one locality is no more than 15. Number of caudals varies from 52 to 72. There is slight sexual dimorphism in the number of ventrals and somewhat greater differences in the number of caudals.
Table 1.—Variation in the Numbers of Ventrals and Caudals in Four Subspecies of Pituophis.
| Subspecies | Ventrals | Caudals | ||
| Range | Mean | Range | Mean | |
| deppei deppei | ||||
| 34 ♂♂ | 210-231 | 220.4 | 53-69 | 61.5 |
| 16 ♀♀ | 209-232 | 218.2 | 52-61 | 57.2 |
| deppei jani | ||||
| 12 ♂♂ | 215-235 | 225.1 | 56-68 | 62.6 |
| 3 ♀♀ | 228-231 | 229.0 | 52-60 | 56.0 |
| lineaticollis lineaticollis | ||||
| 13 ♂♂ | 231-258 | 239.5 | 54-72 | 64.9 |
| 9 ♀♀ | 229-249 | 241.3 | 55-68 | 60.6 |
| lineaticollis gibsoni | ||||
| 2 ♂♂ | 234 | 234.0 | 61-65 | 63.0 |
| 4 ♀♀ | 241-246 | 243.7 | 57-63 | 59.0 |
Coloration.—The dorsal ground color is tan or straw; the dorsal pattern consists basically of dark middorsal blotches and dark lateral intercalary spots. Number of blotches, color of blotches posteriorly, width of pale interspaces between anterior blotches, and color of lateral intercalary spots vary considerably geographically. In some populations (lineaticollis and gibsoni) the anterior blotches are divided medially forming either a pair of dark stripes on the anterior part of the body or a series of paired spots. Details of coloration are described in the following accounts.
