>>CK,
>>Concerning C. bottae distribution, immediately below is part of a message I sent yesterday to my son in Utah who also has been involved with the species. (See his www.rubberboas.com web site.) In relation to the unique mtDNA results that recently came to light, I mentioned the following:
>>------------------------------------------------------------
>> "And once again, all of this relates to the overall distribution of the species as well as the dwarf form. When William Flaxington sent me the male boa found at 7300 ft. on Benton Crossing Road east of Lake Crowley along Hwy. 395 (north of Bishop), it renewed my gut feeling that the species is quite likely to occur 20 to 25 miles northeast into western Nevada. In checking the elevation in that region, you find that just south and north of Mono Lake, there appears to be unbroken elevation at and above 7000 ft. into Nevada and continuing south into the White Mts. of Nevada and Calif. If I weren't so darn old, a trip into the various sections of W. Nevada would be in the works."
>>--------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>Richard F. Hoyer

Indeed, I just located Benton Crossing Road in Yahoo maps, and this road is found on the slopes of a mountain that runs continuously all the way past Benton into Mineral County, Nevada.
So, it is quite possible that the rubber boa went around the eastern slopes of the Sierrae Nevada and into westen Nevada. If so, this population could be a different lineage than the large morph Sierra Nevada lineage but will still be part of the Sierra Nevada subclade. Things are indeed getting more complicated and more interesting. Thanks for the info. You can click on the link below to see the map.

Benton Crossing Road and vicinity

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