AUSTRALIAN SNAKES. 03 



ToRTOiSE-HEADEu Brown Sea Snake. Emydoccphalus tuberculatus. 



Emydocepbalus tuberculatus, KrcJTt, Proc. Zool. Soc, ISGO. 



Scales in 17 rows. 

 Abdominal plates, 135. 

 One anal plate. 

 Subcaudal plates, 30. 

 Total length, 32 inches. 

 Head, 1 inch. 

 Tail, 5^ inches. 

 Girth, 4 inches. 



Head short, but longer than in the previous species ; neck rounded ; 

 all the other parts of the body compressed, very stout, with strongly com- 

 pressed tail, ending in a large flat scale or spine divided into three 

 segments, scales very large, hexagonal, the greater portion fully one quarter 

 of an inch wide, much imbricated and tuberculated. Abdominal plates 

 large, wdth a fold or ridge in the middle, but not keeled; each plate covered 

 with several elongated tubercles. Head shielded, the sutures of the frontals 

 and nasals forming right angles ; vertical nearly rounded ; superciliaries 

 large, five-sided ; occipitals short, much broader than long. Three upper 

 and lower labials, the middle one very large, covering nearly the whole 

 gape ; the middle lower labial shield very irregular in form, with one or 

 two indentions. One anterior and two posterior oculars ; eye of moderate 

 size. General color uniformly purplish brown ; some of the scales on the 

 side mottled with lighter browTi spots. 



Habitat, probably the Australian Seas ; a single specimen in the 

 Museum collection. 



DISTEIHi^, Lace'p. 



Body compressed, of moderate length ; head shielded above ; a pair 

 of anterior frontals between the nasals which are small. Scales imbricate ; 

 ventral shields distinct, but small. 



