Field notes, v1307
Page 117
Image from the Biodiversity Heritage Library. Contributed by Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley. | www.biodiversitylibrary.org
Transcription
Greene, lt. 1990 August 18 road since last night - now under the first large (continued) juniper north of the road, in the same arroyo, on its west bank - stretched out and frozen. At 0858hr we located C. molossus ♂ #6 ±2-3 meters S of yesterday's site, coiled w/ tail hidden - he is still just off and west of the little N-S mining road. At 0908hr, we found C. molossus ♀ #5 in a tight coil, same place as yesterday. At 0939hr, we found ♂, molossus ♂ #1 mating w/ an unwashed ♀, ±30-40 m west of yesterday's side, slightly higher on the slope and perhaps 10-15 meters below some rim rocks. The pair was in partial shade, stretched up slope and parallel to the edge of a ±20-30cm deep slab ≥2m long, w/ dense vegetation at its upper end. When we arrived their posteriors were in partial sun. ♀ was stretched out, head and neck angled to the E; the male parallel and against her ±1/2 his body length, head and neck extended straight past her angle for 30cm, then also turned E. At 0949hr she moved her posterior slightly and he turned back w/ chin movements - short, jerkly, lateral, against his body. Occasionally her tail rippled or contracted. At 1620hr she moved upslope a few cm - possibly in response to us, but I think more likely to gain more shade. His tail jerked and he turned