738 



Acanthvphis from Central Australia preserved in the South 

 Australian Museum. The Death Adder is known to be a 

 very variable species, and there has been an inclination to 

 regard A. pyrrhus merely as a particularly ruddy form of 

 A. antarctica. Having, however, nine specimens for study, I 

 find that the characters are quite constant, that the species is 

 well founded, and that all our Central Australian examples 

 prove to be referable to this form. 



Description. — Rostral fully twice as broad as deep ; inter- 

 nasals slightly longer than broad ; prefrontals four, as long as 

 the internasals ; frontal one-half longer than broad, as long 

 as the internasals and prefrontals together, equal to or longer 

 than the parietals, and as broad as the supraoculars. Eye 

 surrounded by six scales, one preocular, one supraocular, two 

 suboculars, and two postoculars. Nasal long and undivided, 

 in contact with the rostral, internasal, outer prefrontal, pre- 

 ocular and the first three labials. Temporals, 2 + 4. Six 

 upper labials, the third larger than the fourth, the fifth the 

 largest. With exception of the labials all the upper head 

 shields are very rugose. Four lower labials in contact with 

 the anterior chin shields, which are expanded and longer than 

 the posterior pair. Scales in 21 rows, dorsals strongly, laterals 

 feebly keeled. The anal is entire, and the number of ventral 

 plates, etc., is shown below, the specimen described being 

 lettered a. Colour bright orange-red, with dark cross-bars 

 above, formed of three longitudinal scales, each bar separated 

 by a similar interspace; end of tail, including the spine, dark- 

 grey with black bands. Lower surfaces yellow, the two lower 

 rows of lateral scales each with a black spot, especially con- 

 spicuous in the anterior part of the body. 



It will be noticed that the description agrees quite well 

 with that of the type specimen, excepting as regards the 

 number of temporal shields : Boulenger renders them as 

 3 + 4, but in all our nine examples the anterior shields are 

 but two in number. 



DETAILS OF NINE SPECIMENS. 





a 



b 



c 



d 



e 



/ 



9 



h 





Ventral shields 

 Sub - caudal 



149 



147 



147 



153 



155 



142 



142 



152 



141 



shields 

 Total length in 



26 + 11 



25 + 11 



13 + li 



26 + 11 



30 + 11 



29 + If 



29 + If 



27 + It 



26 + 11 



mm. 

 Length of tail 

 in mm. 



690 

 90 



545 



87 



540 



83 



490 

 67 



487 

 86 



390 

 69 



345 



50 



290 

 50 



210 

 34 



