102 



kiads, and a small one, venomous but not dangerous. Not a 

 single innocuous snake lias as yet been discovered. 



All the snakes belong to tbe peculiar Australian genus Sop- 

 loceplialus, and are local varieties of continental forms. They 

 go under different names in Tasmania however, such as 

 " Black Snake," " Carpet Snake," and " Diamond Snake." 



The first two are varieties of our " Brown-banded Snake,' 

 Eoploce^halus curtus, and named " Black Snake" if of a dark 

 color; and "Carpet Snake," if light, with the cross-bands 

 visible. The Museum is indebted to Mr. Masters for a fine 

 series of both, and having taken thirty-five young (some black, 

 and some with visible cross-bands) from the same mother, the 

 identity of both is sufiSciently proved. 



The term " Carpet Snake" is not well chosen, and leads to 

 frequent mistakes here and in Tasmania, as our own " Carpet 

 Snake" (Morelia variegata), belongs to the Python tribe and is 

 not venemous. 



The second dangerous snake is So^plocepJialus sioperhus, the 

 *' Tiger Snake " of Victoria, known to Tasmanians as the 

 " Diamond Snake," another popular name which leads to con- 

 fusion if we bear in mind that the " Diamond Snake " 

 (Iforelia sjnlotes) of the south-eastern coast of New South 

 Wales is a member of the Python family and harmless. 



The third venemous snake is the SojyJocejyJiahcs coronoides, 

 or " Black-bellied Snake," of small size and wide range. 

 This snake, even when handled, seldom, if ever, offers to bite, 

 and the wound caused by it is not as bad as the sting of a bee. 



Two other small snakes (Bracliysoma himaculatum and JB. 

 calonotos), discovered by Mons. Yerreaux in 1844, are men- 

 tioned by Messrs. Dumeel and Bibron, as inhabitants of Tas- 

 mania ; since then no more specimens have come to hand 

 from the same locality, and we may fairly conclude that the 

 habitat given by M. Verreaux is erroneous. 



The Tasmanian frogs are also few in number. The JHyZoe, 

 or " Tree Frogs," represent three species, viz., the common 

 " Golden Tree Frog," Sijla aurea; "Swing's Tree Frog," 

 Sylaewingii; and a kind, which I consider to be identical 

 with Ryla verreauxii, all of which are common on the main- 

 land of Australia. Of Swamp-frogs, we find the widely dis- 

 tributed Limnodynastes tasmeniensis, a FseudopJiryne discovered 

 by Mr. Masters, and probably new, Fteroplirynus tasmaniensis 

 and P. IcEvis, the two latter much infected by the larvae of a 

 small fly of the Genus Batrachyomya (Macleay), which insects 

 are also found on allied species in Australia. 



