4:^ IIOKN EXI'KDITION N AlMJATl VK. 



Ill tin; sand hy llif ii\ii' bank, a fuui or two bolow the surt'aco, was a 

 Ijca-utit'iil little l)lack and oi'aum', banded snake [VtTW!a'//i/ ii/i/////(i/(i) some nix ov 

 tnylit inelics long of whieli, foi- some reason, the Macks were very frightened. It 

 does not however do to trust iniplicity to the natural history instincts of the 

 natives. One; day at Charltjtte Waters, during my second visit, they Ijrought in a 

 specimen of what was evidently either the "deaf-adder" {^Acanlliopliis aiitarctica) 

 or another species of the same genus. It was longer antl thiniKu- in the body and 

 more brightly coloured than tlu; usual speeinuins, but had the same general 

 appearance, and the little spine at the tail end which is distinctive of the 

 " deaf-a,dder " — the most Ncnomous of our Australian snakes. Despite this, they 

 were positive that it was a non-\enomous snake and hantlled it in a way in which 

 they would not do even a lloplocejihalus. J questioned two or three of them about 

 it but they would not alter their opinion, and yet it turned out on examination to 

 be a true AcantJiopis aiitarctica. 



Right in the sand of the river-l)ed were eveiy now and then the tracks of a 

 frog. ^Vs the sand on the surface was very hot and dry I was a good deal surprised 

 to see these, but, of course, the blacks knew all about them, and after following up 

 tlu; tracivs of one for a few yards they came to an end at a spot where there was a 

 little depression as if an animal had burrowed down and the soft sand had been 

 pressed up on either side and had then slightly tumbled in towards the centre 

 as the animal went down. A foot or so beneath the surface; it was cool and 

 slightly moist and hen; we came upon the fi'og [Liiiniodviiastt'S oriiatiis). Its body 

 is about two inches in length, the ground colour being a silvery grey with splotches 

 varying in colour from dark grey to muber. There is always present a light lyre 

 shaped patch on the hinder part of the head, the two arms of the lyre stretching 

 forward one on to each eyelid. (Jn the upper sui'facc of the body and limbs are 

 little dots of salmon-pink colour surrounded by small dark elides. .Sometimes the 

 dark markings are so indistinct that the whole body has a silver grey a2jpeara,nce 

 but the pattt;rn, how(;ver feebly indicated, is always one which can be derived from 

 a well-marked, dark specimen. 



The hind foot is strongly webljcd and has the sliovel-shaped tubercle which is 

 so characteristic of burrowing frogs. Sometimes the body is to a certain extent 

 sw«jllen out with water which can be pressed out through the cloaca ; Ijut this is 

 nothing like so striking a featurt; as in the case of the clay-j)an or water-holding 

 li'og pre\'iously dt;scribed {Cliiroh'pfes plaiyiephaliis). 



The stomach contained beetles which had evidently been caught on the sand, 

 the animal emerging from its hiding place during the night when everything is 



