AUSTRALIAN SNAKES. 45 



angle behind ; occipitals rounded behind, forked ; sujierciliaries moderate, 

 prominent above the eye, two posterior oculars ; one anterior (in one 

 specimen two), deeply grooved before the eye, raised above the surface of 

 the crown, but not reaching the vertical; two nasals (nostra! between), 

 anterior one largest, bent on the front of snout ; six vipper labials, third 

 and fourth forming the lower edge of orbit, sixth largest, one larger, 

 rhomboid, temporal shield in contact with lower postorbital, some others 

 behind scale-like ; six lower labials, and a very small scale-like shield 

 behind ; first pair lower labials very long, forming a long suture 

 behind the medial one ; the second small, narrow, and only one-fourth of the 

 third ; the fourth pair very large, in one specimen six-sided, in contact 

 with the fifth, and with two chin-scales behind ; scales rather elongate, 

 rhomboidal, smooth, in seventeen rows, on the neck in nineteen or twenty - 

 one rows ; anal bifid ; all subcaudals two-rowed ; upper jaw with one 

 fang in front, separated from the following by an interval ; an elongate 

 series of five to six teeth behind, which are not grooved ; palatine teeth 

 equal; anterior teeth of lower jaw longest; brownish olive, or blackish 

 olive ; back of trunk, and tail, with ten to twelve very broad brown or 

 black cross bands, the first on the neck being darkest ; adult specimens 

 exhibit the bands more or less obsolete, so as to become nearly viniform, 

 the neck being always blackish brown, or ornamented with an angular 

 broAvn spot ; belly uniformly yellowish, in young individuals black-spotted. 

 Length of cleft of mouth 1" ; length of tail 1' ; total length 5' 4". 



The above is Dr. Gllnther's original description. The habitat of this 

 snake i< s^iven as Noi-th-west Australia and Port Essington. 



PSEUDECHIS. Waf/ler. 



Body rather elongate and rounded ; tail moderate, not distinct from 

 trunk, tapering; head not distinct from neck, moderate, quadrangular, 

 with moderate rounded muzzle ; shields of crown moderate ; two nasals, 

 nostril between ; no loreal ; one anterior, two posterior oculars ; scales 

 smooth, imbricate, in seventeen rows ; anal bifid ; first subcaudals entire, 

 hinder ones two-rowed (exceptionally all entire). Grooved fang in front; 

 some smaller, ones not grooved behind. 



