ATJSTEALIAN SNAKES. 47 



There was a rumour at one time that the sexes were different in 

 coloration, but this is not the case, as the large series of specimens in the 

 collection of the Australian Museum sufficiently proves. It inhabits 

 nearly every part of Australia, but is not found in Tasmania ; the reptile 

 known under the name of " Black Snake" in that island is a dark variety 

 of the Hoplocephalus curtus or Brown-banded Snake, and identical with 

 Hoplocephalus fuscus (Steindachner), lately described by that well-known 

 Austrian naturalist as a new species. 



The present reptile grows to a considerable size, but seldom, if ever, 

 exceeds six feet in length. 



Orange-bellied Beown Snake. Pseudechls australis. 



(Plate VI, figs. H and 11a.) 



Naja australis, Gray, Zool. Misc., p. 55. 



Pseudechis australis, Giinther, Ann. and Mag. of Nat. Hist., 3rd Series, vol. XII, p. 362. 



Scales in 17 rows. 



Two anal plates. 



Abdominals, 199. 



Subcaudals, 31|. 



Head, 1^ inch. 



Tail, 10 inches. 



Total length, about 3 feet 6 inches. 



This species is considered to be a variety of the Black Snake, and 

 for such it has generally been taken by the few observers who have seen it 

 in a state of nature. Dr. Gray's description of " light brown above and 

 yellowish below" answers perfectly to preserved specimens, but when 

 alive the colors differ more or less. 



The back and sides are of a bright copper color, the outer row of 

 scales having a rich orange spot in the centre of each scale ; the abdominal 

 plates are of deep yellow or orange, each jilate having a darker margin, 

 and its sides red or orange spotted. The general structure of the scales, 

 shape of the head, and distribution of colors, is exactly as in the Black 

 Snake. The nine principal head-shields cover a slightly larger space than 

 those of the Pseudechis porphyriacus, and the vertical shield has a different 

 shape, the anterior margin being broader than the posterior one, which 

 is the reverse in the Black Snake. Comparing the heads of both species, 

 we find that of P. austi'alis flatter and larger. 



