OF NEW SOUTH WALES. 221 



I received only one specimen of this Snake. It differs very- 

 much from P. porphyriacus and Australia, the only two species of 

 the genus mentioned in Krefft's Snakes of Australia, but another 

 species under the name of scutellatus has been described by 

 Peters in the " Ak. Wiss. Berl. 1867, p. 710" as coming from 

 Rockhampton. As I have never seen the last mentioned species, 

 nor even a description of it, I cannot of course be certain that 

 it is not identical with the one now described from Port Darwin. 



Brachysoma simile. 



Not unlike B. diadema. Body more enlarged towards the 

 middle, ventral shields flatter and more angled at each side ; 

 vertical shields more elongate and perfectly triangular. Scales 

 in 15 rows, abdominal shields 180, sub-caudals 54-54. Total 

 length 16 inches, tail 3 inches ; the front of the head as far as 

 the middle of the occipital shields is black, and there is a black 

 bar on the nape of the neck ; with these exceptions, the entire 

 upper surface is of a pale yellow, with the lateral margin of 

 each scale of a reddish brown, giving the appearance of 13 

 narrow undulating longitudinal stripes. The under surface is 

 entirely pale yellow. 



Elapocephalus. — New genus. 



Body elongate, slender, cylindric. Tail rather long, slight, 

 and tapering to a very fine point. Head high, and broader than 

 neck, with short round muzzle. Eyes large, pupil round. Head 

 shields as in Elaps. Scales smooth, in 15 rows. Anal shield 

 entire. Sub-caudals in two rows. Fangs and poison glands 

 large for the size. 



The large eye and elongate tail separate this genus from Elaps. 

 The plan of the head shields is exactly as in that genus, hence 

 the name. 



Elapocephalus ornaticeps. 



Head brown, each shield beautifully marked with variously 

 shaped white margined black patches ; on the nape, and for a 

 short distance on each side of the neck, there is a collar of a 

 deep sulphur orange hue. The whole upper surface of the body 



