AUSTEALIAN SNAKES. 49 



Body and tail moderate, rounded, tapering behind ; head not very 

 distinct from neck, depressed, with flat crown and broad muzzle, obtuse in 

 front. Rostral shield broad, narrow, rounded behind, not much raised 

 above surfoce of cro^ni ; anterior frontals broad, short ; posterior ones 

 much larger, bent down on the sides, replacing the loreal, in contact with 

 second and third labials ; vertical five-sided, with such obtuse lateral 

 angles as nearly to be three-sided, elongate, and with a very acute angle 

 behind ; occipitals moderate, rounded and forked behind ; superciliary 

 moderate ; two posterior oculars ; anterior ocular forming only the upper 

 half of anterior edge of eye, the lower one being formed by the thu"d 

 labial ; no loreal, one nasal, pierced by the nostril ; seven upper labials, 

 third and fourth coming into the orbit ; one larger temporal shield in 

 contact with both oculars, five smaller ones behind, scale-like. Scales 

 smooth, short, large, with rounded apex, in fifteen rows ; anal bifid ; 

 subcaudals two-rowed. Eye small, pupil ellijitical, erect. Upper jaw 

 with a grooved fang in front, separated from the other teeth by an interval ; 

 an elongate series of six to seven teeth behind ; palatine teeth equal in 

 length; anterior teeth of lower jaw longest. Above brown, each scale 

 with a yellow spot in the centre ; spots in younger individuals occupying 

 nearly the whole scale, so as to give the appearance of the scales being 

 yellow, brown-edged ; crown of head and neck black, separated by a broad 

 white collar, very conspicuous in younger individuals, gradually becoming 

 obsolete; belly uniformly yellowish. The oviduct of one specimen contained 

 eight mature eggs, but without embryo. Length of egg |" ; breadth of 

 egg §". {Gunther.) 



There is nothing to add to the present description, except that 

 " the broad white collar" is bright scarlet in living specimens, and that 

 the anterior part of the under lip is always black ; the head is very 

 distmct from the trunk ; and the largest example which was ever obtained 

 for the Museum collection is but 14 inches long. Our figure is considerably 

 enlarged. 



Specimens of this very handsome little snake have been received 

 from almost every part of Australia north of the Mm-ray River. The 

 Museum examples arc all from the east coast — the most northern ones from 

 Cleveland Ray. 

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