SrUIMKS IN AlISTKALIAN i; Kl'l'l I.KS — KIN<i|l()l!\. 14'J 



Casino, on tlic North Coast, but tliere is a queiy after the name ol tlie 

 town ; all llie others, however, are autlientically re(!orde(I from hicalities 

 on the table lands and tlie plains west of the Gi'eat Dividing Range. Tlie 

 majority are from distiicts round about Moree, and Narrabri, two are 

 from Quii-indi, and the remainder fiom Bourke, Brewariina, and Wai-ren. 



The series sliows a fair degree of variation in the structure of the 

 head shields. 



The fang is followed by tive sliarp, strongly recurved, grooved teeth. 



Vakiatkjn. 



The Prefrontals. — These shields are invariably larger than the inter- 

 nasals. The length of the centre suture of the respective shields varies 

 in different specimens, that of the prefrontals generally being longer than 

 that of the internasals, but in some specimens they are equal. 



Frontal. — The sluipe of tliis shield is very variable. It may be broad 

 in fi-ont, gradually narrowing posteriorly to the sutures of the parietals 

 and supraoculars, or with a constriction at the centre, broadening a little 

 towards the sutui'e of the supraoculars and parietals, from which point it 

 is produced backwards so as to form eithei' an obtuse or an acute angle. 

 In a few specimens the sides of the shield are almost parallel, with an 

 obtuse angle anterioi'ly and an acute angle pctsterioily. Its length in 

 comparison to its breadth varies from once and one third, to once and 

 tln-ee quaiters as long as broad, but in the majority of specimens it is 

 about once and a half times as long as broad, it may be as long as its 

 distance from the rostral to a little longer than its distance froiii the end 

 of the snout. It is nearly always once and one half times as broad as the 

 supraoculars, but in one specimen it is only a fraction broader, in a 

 second it is once and three quarters, while in two others it is twice as 

 broad'*. 



Parietals. — The extreme length of this shield is about equal to the 

 distance from the posterior border of the froutal to the posterior border of 

 the rostral. The shape of its outer margin vai'ies slightly according to the 

 disposition of the surrounding scales. 



Pupil. — This is elliptical throughout the series, but the comparative 

 measurements of the ellipse vaiy somewhat, so that in two specimens it 

 might be termed abnost circular and in several otheis the shape of the 

 pupil is different in the two eyes. 



CJiin Shields. — In the majoiity of specimens the posterior aie longer 

 than the anterior, but in three examples they might be termed equal in 

 isize and length. 



The Ventral Shifhls. — The total numbers of these shields are from 

 124-139, and the subcaudals, 25-3-l<, single. The ventrals and subcaudals 

 added together numbei- from 155-166. 



■• This latter measurement may be abnormal, as it is certainly exti-eme, but in 

 all other charactei's the specimen ac^rees with tlio majority. 



