PREFACE. 



This fifteenth Decade continues the illustrations of Victorian 

 Keptiles by figures, for the first time of the colours of life, on 

 Plate 141, of the Egernia, or Spiny-ridged Lizard ; and, on 

 Plate 142, of the Pseudechys Australis, a very deadly snake 

 confined in Victoria to the hot northern boundary, where it is 

 usually confounded with the Brown Snake (Diemenia), figured 

 on Plate 23 of our third Decade, although really most allied 

 to the equally fatal Black Snake (Pseudechys porphyriacus), 

 figured on Plate 1 of the first Decade. 



The illustrations of the Victorian Fishes are continued with, 

 on Plate 143, one of the numerous "Leather Jackets" (Mona- 

 canthus Pero7iii) of our coasts, not recognisably figured before ; 

 and, on Plate 144, of the first occurrence in Australia of the 

 curious " Spinose Shark," Echinorhinus spinosus, of which the 

 previously published figures are very erroneous. 



Plate 145 gives the most nearly complete figure yet published 

 of Banks' Oar-Fish ( Regalecus Banksi), a creature of extremely 

 rare occurrence, and most probably the "Sea Serpent" of 

 mariners. 



The next three plates continue the illustrations of the Polyzoa 

 so abundant on our coasts, the descriptions and specimens of 

 which Mr. MacGillivray gives for this work and the National 

 Museum. 



