44 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria. 



In summaries of this sort, while we may make use of numbers, 

 we are very far from being able to obtain in accurate numerical 

 terms the relations which the compared regions bear to one 

 another. The number of species which are common to two 

 regions may be the same as that for two other regions, but, if 

 the former are species abounding in individuals while the latter 

 are rare forms, it is plain that the latter relationship points to a 

 more ancient continuity than the former. Inaccuracy in report 

 of single or infrequent occurrences may greatly affect numerical 

 statistics. There is always a margin of doubtful cases which we 

 cannot altogether exclude, and cannot put into the same category 

 with well-authenticated or especially with well-known species. 

 Numbers then can do little more than indicate the general trend 

 of the evidence. 



Of the harmless snakes there are no Tasmanian records, but in 

 Victoria there are Blind Snakes, Green Tree Snakes and Cai'pet 

 Snakes. Of the Blind Snakes Typhlops polygrammicus is com- 

 mon in the warm, drier, northern parts of the colony. Krefft 

 mentions T. bicolor as being found near Melbourne, but it is 

 certainly uncommon. 



The Tree Snake, Dendrophis punctulata, is in Victoria confined 

 to the northern area, where it is tolerably plentiful. The Carpet 

 Snake, More/in variegata, is not met with south of the Divide, 

 but becomes common toward the Murray border. It occurs in 

 all parts of Australia, except in South Victoria and the adjacent 

 coast district of New South Wales. Krefft records the allied 

 Diamond Snake of New South Wales, M. spilotes* from the 

 Murray district of Victoria, 



Speaking generally then, the harmless snakes are characteristic 

 of the northern, and are but rare visitors of the southern, parts of 

 Victoria. Of the venomous snakes, Furina, Vermicella and 

 Acanthopsis are northern genera exclusively. 



*.V. variegatus and M. spilotes are united in the B.M. Catalogue. 



