XIII 



ELAPINAE HYDROPHINAE 635 



yellow. The range of this very common snake extends over 

 Tasmania and Australia. 



Acantliophis antarcticus, the " Death Adder," is easily recog- 

 nised by the peculiar tail, the end of which is laterally compressed, 

 beset with a few rows of enlarged imbricating scales, and terminates 

 in a thin horny spine. The head is distinct from the neck, and 

 flat ; the eye has a vertical pupil. The short and thick body is 

 covered with twenty-one or twenty-three rows of keeled scales. 

 The anterior caudals are single, the posterior double. The 

 colours of the upper parts are a mixture of brown, reddish and 

 yellow, with dark cross -bands. The belly is pale yellow, often 

 spotted with brown or black. The end of the tail is yellow, 

 reddish brown or black. The total length of this stout and 

 ugly viviparous ' creature remains under 3 feet. It is widely 

 distributed from South Australia to the Moluccas. The use of 

 the peculiar tail very probably consists in attracting or fixing the 

 attention of small animals ; the snake, lying coiled up on a dry 

 and sandy spot, slightly raising and vibrating the tip of the tail. 



Elaps is an entirely American genus, with many species, most 

 of which are extremely prettily coloured, red and black in alter- 

 nate rings being a favourite pattern. The maxillaries carry no 

 teeth behind the poison-fangs. The scales of the body are smooth 

 and form fifteen rows. The tail is short. The small eye has 

 mostly a vertical pupil. The head is very small, not distinct 

 from the neck. The squamosal and quadrate bones are short, and 

 the gape of the mouth is so limited that these beautiful snakes, 

 although possessing strong poison, are practically harmless to 

 man. One of the prettiest is E. corallinus of the forests of 

 Tropical South America and the Lesser Antilles. The whole 

 body, above and below, is adorned with about twenty deep black 

 rings, which are edged with yellow and again separated by red 

 rings equalling in width the black ones. Sometimes the red 

 rings are dotted with black, and the black dots may form addi- 

 tional rings between the fed and the yellow. Total length 

 under 3 feet. 



Sub-Fam. 2. Hydrophinae (Sea-Snakes). The tail is strongly 

 compressed, sometimes the body also. All the scales are 

 small, and there are often no enlarged ventrals. The eyes are 

 small, with round pupils. All these snakes are very poisonous 

 and live in the sea, often at considerable distances from the land, 



