58 ON THE SNAKES OF SYDNEY, 



ACANTHOPHIS. Daud. 



ACANTHOPHIS ANTARTICA. Wagl. 



, The Death Adder. 



Scales in 21 rows. 

 Ventrals 127. 

 Anal entire. 

 Subcaudals 42. 



Head large, depressed, broad behind, regularly shielded, no 

 loreal, 2 nasals, nostrils between ; 8 rows of dorsal scales, keeled 

 to the root of the tail ; grey, sometimes salmon coloured above, 

 minutely punctulated ; back and tail with about 4 or 5 white 

 spots speckled with pink, lower lip flesh coloured (white or yel- 

 lowish white in spirits), with a pale black dot in the centre of 

 each scale ; beneath salmon coloured (yellow in spirits) ; tail dis- 

 tinct from trunk, short, thin, and ending in a recurved soft spine. 



The colour of the Death Adder is subject to a good deal of 

 variation, northern specimens from Rockhampton and Port 

 Denison have the dark cross-bands of the back considerably 

 smaller than those from the neighbourhood of Sydney, and the 

 markings in the centre of the upper and lower labials and chin 

 shields are of a pale greyish hue in the former. Specimens of a 

 copper-red colour, as occasionally occur near Richmond, Rand- 

 wick, and Long Bay, have seldom come under my notice from 

 other parts of the continent. 



Its habits and economy are tolerably well known. It is fond 

 of warmth and sunshine, frequents sandy localities, is sluggish 

 in its movements, and does not jump backwards if going to bite. 

 When irritated this snake flattens itself out generally in the form 

 of an S, turning round to one side or the other with astonishing 

 rapidity, but never jumping at its enemy. As regards the sup- 

 posed venomous sting in the tail, I can assure everybody inte- 

 rested in this matter that the caudal appendage is a mere orna- 

 ment, quite soft, which nobody could run into his finger 

 if he tried, and I am astonished that the fables which igno- 

 rance has circulated in a former and darker age, have not 

 been exposed long before this. 



In April or May they go into winter quarters, having during 

 the summer months accumulated a sufficient quantity of fat, to 



