308 REPTILES OF THE WORLD 



Several of the Australian snakes, among them the 

 species of Pseudechis and Hoplocephalus, spread the 

 neck slightly in cobra fashion. The Black Snake, 

 Pseudechis porphyriacus, growing to a length of five 

 and six feet, is an abundant species. The smooth scales 

 are blue-black, the first row on each side of the abdomen, 

 red. This is a very dangerous snake — sometimes called 

 the Purple Death Adder; the effect of its venom is 

 much like that of the cobras. A beautiful specimen 

 lived in the reptile house of the Philadelphia Zoological 

 Gardens for over eleven years, feeding upon small 

 rodents and birds. 



The Tiger Snake, Brachyaspis curtus, is another 

 of Australia's deadly serpents. The scales are smooth 

 and the markings somewhat variable, usually olive or 

 brown with dark cross-bands. The plates under the tail 

 are in a single row. The distribution covers the greater 

 part of Western Australia. 



Quite different in outline from the great array of 

 dangerous members of the Elapince, found in Aus- 

 tralia, is the Death Adder, Acanthophis antarcticus; 

 nevertheless, this is an Elapine snake. The body is 

 short and stout, with keeled scales, the head flat and 

 distinct from the neck; the eye has a cat-like, vertical 

 pupil. Most characteristic is the tail, the tip of which is 

 later-ally flattened, provided with enlarged, overlapping 

 scales and terminating in a long, thin spine. This vil- 

 lainous-looking snake is abundant in Australia, where 

 it is widely distributed; it also occurs in New Guinea. 

 Above, it is variegated with brown and yellow, crossed 

 by darker bands. 



Among other Old World Elapine snakes is Doliophis, 

 composed of several species in Indo-China and Malaysia. 

 They are small, with smooth scales and lead a secretive 



