FAUNA OF THE MONTE BELLO ISLANDS. 643 
This species holds quite an isolated position. In most respects 
it approaches 7’. braminis, from which it is readily distinguished 
by the inferior nasal not extending to the upper surface of the 
head. 
11. Lrasis CHILDRENI Gray. 
Gray, Zool. Miscell. 1842, p. 44; Cat. p. 93; Dum. & 
Bibr. Erp. Gén. vi. p. 439, 1844. 
Only one specimen of this snake was seen and obtained. 
Apparently it is not common, though probably more in evidence 
in the very hot weather. It is distributed over Northern Australia 
to the islands in Torres Straits. J am aware of no previous 
record so far south as the Monte Bello Group. 
From the above list, it will be seen that the reptilian fauna is 
typically North-West Australian, and it is quite possible that 
the new Z'yphlops will be found also to occur on Barrow Island 
and the mainland. With one or two exceptions, however, the 
island forms have undergone a marked reduction in size. 
The following measurements of total lengths illustrate to what 
extent this reduction has taken place :— 
Brit. Mus. Cat. Largest specimen obtained. 
LENO UN OCU ence anes, 80 mm. 103 mm. 
G. variegata ...... 147 ,, Sime 
Jee OIWERGS. doenbande ANGIS) |p BOO)» oe 
A. muelleri......... She AEs 
Ib, WYVES hoonoocoede Bi. op 82h, 
Ibe OSHA DIS saoone oon OSS WAY 
Vis gould ttre 3. LOO LOMO 
V. acanthurus .. 665 ,, OO 
* INSECTA. 
The collections of insects from the Monte Bello Islands are 
small. The islands were worked only during the dry months, 
when probably not one-third of the species were in the imago 
state, and it is probable that after the tropical rains very 
different results might have been obtained. On the other hand, 
the rainfall is so erratic that there are really no fixed seasons for 
emergence, and, the average temperature being high, a shower of 
rain in July may cause the emergence in small numbers of a 
species occurring abundantly after a heavy storm in October. 
To this cause I attribute the large percentage of odd examples, 
for showers occurred in April and in July, after a prolonged 
period of drought—the tropical rains of the previous season having 
failed. It is interesting to note, that with the common Pierid 
butterfly, Belenois teutonia, though the majority were of the 
dry-season form with the black on the margins of the wings 
reduced, about 20 per cent. were intermediate, and a few examples 
even approached the wet-season form. The collection, therefore, 
