BY GERARD KREFFT. 51 



signatus is the most common of the Snakes on Ash Island, and 

 that it is frequently captured and carried about by domestic cats, 

 generally at night, proving at once its nocturnal habits and the 

 slight effect its venom has upon these animals. 



At Port Macquarie, this Snake occurs in large numbers, also 

 at the Richmond and Clarence Rivers, but from beyond Brisbane 

 I have never seen any specimens. I believe that it is also found 

 in the neighbourhood of Melbourne. It is probably identical with 

 Hoplocephalus flagellum (M'Coy) . 



The female produces from 15 to 25 young ones annually, 

 total length 20 inches, tail 4 inches, cleft of mouth f of inch. 



HOPLOCEPHALUS VARIEGATUS. D. and B. 

 Broad-Headed Snake. 



Scales in 21 rows. 

 Anal entire. 

 Ventrals 210. 

 Subcaudals 45 to 50. 



Body and tail moderate ; head flat, broad behind, very distinct 

 from neck, obtuse in front ; eye moderate, pupil sub-elliptical ; 

 vertical shield rather small, six sided, frontals of nearly equal 

 size, large posterior ones rounded behind ; occipitals regular, 

 rather broad, forked ; large lower temporal shield wedged between 

 fifth and sixth lower labial ; 6 lower labials, the last of which is 

 the largest ; one large pre-ocular in conjunction with nasal ; an- 

 terior, frontal and second upper labial replacing the loreal. 



Above black, irregularly spotted with yellow (white in spirits), 

 forming a series of broad black blotches upon the back. 



Beneath shining greyish black, each ventral plate with a large 

 yellow spot on each side ; first and second row of scales yellow, 

 with here and there a black one intermixed ; all the light scales 

 more or less shaded towards the point. 



We know little or nothing as regards the geographical dis- 

 tribution of this reptile ; the few specimens in European collec- 

 tions were obtained by Mons. Verreaux, near Sydney, and so 

 rare has this snake always been that up to 1858 no specimen of 



