Mr. G. Krefft on a new Australian Snake. 225 



Fish * out of the bush, called by the natives Egalegala ; they are 

 perfectly black, and are very fine eating. They are so fat they will 

 fry without butter, taste something like eels ; they are in shape 

 something like ' Cat-fishy with filaments from the lower jaw ; they 

 live amongst the mud in the mangrove bush. It would be grand 

 to acclimatize them ; they are such fine eating. They would drive 

 eels out of the market." 



Descriition of Aspidiotes melanocephalvs, a New 

 Snake from PortDenison, N.E. Australia. By Gerard 

 Krefft, Acting Curator and Secretary, Australian 

 Museum, Sydney. 



Fam. BoiDiB. 

 Aspidiotes, nov. gen. 



Crown covered with broad shields reaching behind the eyes ; the 

 remaining part of the head scaly ; labial shields without pits, the 

 front ones high and narrow, the hinder shields lower and broad. 

 Nostrils lateral, in the middle of a plate, two lorcals, two anterior 

 and four posterior oculars ; superciliaries broad, rather prominent 

 above the eye ; nasal shield very large, much produced backwards, 

 and deeply grooved on its lower edge. Scales smooth, iu fifty-two 

 series on the middle of the body ; ventral plates ratlier narrow ; sub- 

 caudals entire, except the last ten or twelve, which are divided. 

 Tail conical, prehensile, ending in a blunt poinL Head rather high, 

 of moderate size ; teeth not very large (smaller than in Morelia). 

 Body thick and compressed. 



Aspidiotes melanocephalus. 



Scales in 52 series on the middle of the body. Ventral shields 

 narrow, 3.30. Anal entire. Subcaudals olj^. 



Head rather high ; body thick and compressed ; tail conical, taper- 

 ing, prehensile, ending in a blunt point ; anal spurs small ; ten upper 



labials, the sixth coming into the orbit ; two anterior and four poste- 

 rior ocular shields ; two loreals, the second nearest to the eye very 

 small ; one nasal, pierced by the nostril ; eye moderate, pupil ellip- 

 Ann. ^- Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 3. Vol. xiv. 15 



