BY W. MACLEAY, F.L.S. 813 



This is the most formidable looking of all the venomous 

 Australian snakes I have seen, and the broad bull dog-like head 

 adds materially to the ferocity of its appearance. 



AsPIDIOTES PcAMSAYI, 



Scales in 53 rows. 

 Abdominal plates 293. 

 Subeaudal plates 48 J. 

 Anal plates 2. 

 Total length 75 inches. 

 Length of tail 9 inches. 

 Length of head 3 inches. 



Body robust and compressed, tail tapering, moderately long. 

 Head large, the occiput broad, rather convex and covered with 

 small scales. The rostral shield is pointed above, there are three 

 pairs of frontal shields, the second pair longest and not distinctly 

 divided ; the vertical is large and hexagonal and not longer than 

 broad, there are two loreals ; the eye is surrounded by nine 

 shields including the superciliary, there are 14 upper labials, all 

 higher than long ; the first seven of the lower labials are narrow. 

 The colour is of a greyish-brown variegated with indistinct darker 

 brown bands and spots over the entire upper surface from the 

 head to the tail ; the ventral plates are yellowish, the basal 

 portion of each plate being dusky. 



The genus Aspidiotes was founded by the late Mr. Krefft for 

 the reception of a species which he named melanocephalus ("Snakes 

 of Australia, page 23, plates 3 and 5 fig. 4.") and which came 

 originally from Port Denison, though subsequently found in 

 other parts of North Eastern Queensland. The species now 

 described is very distinct, but the generic characters are 

 sufficiently near to justify my placing them together. 



