26 



The circumstance of the nasal fissure being in contact with the 

 second labial, and the scales round the body being in 20 rows, 

 limits the Australian species from which T. pinguis requires to 

 be distinguished to three, namely, T. bituberculatus, Peters,*" 

 T. leucoproctus, Boul.,f and T. iviedii, Peters. { All these are 

 elongate forms, the diameter of the body being contained at most 

 44, 40, and 42 times respectively in the total length ; whereas in 

 T. pinguis the diameter is 22 in the length, or nearly twice that 

 of any of the others ; it is in fact the stoutest Australian species 

 known. 



Should further distinction be required, it may be mentioned 

 that the trilobed snout of the first-named is a character which 

 renders that species unmistakeable. The narrow rostral and 

 lateral position of the nostrils sufficiently sunders T. leucoproctus, 

 while T. Wiedii may be at once recognised by the fact that the 

 nasal fissure extends on to the upper surface of the snout, almost 

 dividing the plate. 



10. Typhlops australis, Gray, and T. bicolor, Peters. 



The collection includes a number of examples which I confess 

 I cannot decide whether to name T. australis§ or T. bicolor ;\\ 

 they are certainly one or the other. 



A glance at Boulenger's work shows that this writer widely 

 separates the species in his synopsis,^ the former being included 

 in the main division, characterised by having the " snout 

 rounded," and the latter in that distinguished by the snout 

 having an "obtusely angular horizontal edge." 



Referring to the respective epitomised descriptions,**" we find 

 that this is the only important difference between the two. The 

 number of scales (22) round the body, the character of the nasal 

 fissure, and the diameter of the body (33-37 and 30-34 respec- 

 tively) are the same. The enlarged head scales do not appear to 

 be distinguishing features, and the proportional width of the 

 rostral to the head is only slightly different (three-fifths in 

 T. australis, and one-half in T. bicolor). 



♦Peters, Monatsb. il. k. Akad. d. W. Berlin, 1863, p. 233; and 1867, 

 p. 708, fig. 4. 



t Boulenger, Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist. (6) IV., 1889, p. 361 ; and Cat. 

 Snakes in Brit. Mus., T., 1893, p. 20, pi. I., fig. 6. 



X Peters, loc. cit., 1867, p. 24, and Waite, Proc. Linn. Soc, N.S.W., 

 IX., 1894, p. 13, pi. T., figs. 7, 8, and 9. 



§Gray. Cat. of Lizards, Brit. Mus. (1845), p. 135. 



H Peters. Loc. cit. 1860, p. 81. 



% Boulenger. Cat. Snakes in Brit. Mus. 1893, I., pp. 11, 13. 



** Boulenger. Ibid, pp. 35, 48. 



